Power Rangers ADS
by Shaun Garin
Summary: In a world devastated by the ravages of a machine war, there is the last bastion of humanity, Ba Sing Se. Protected by five young men and women, it's time to Max Drive.
1. Chapter 1: The Gates of Ba Sing Se

"Why is it that every time Rangers are involved, I'm here?" said Suki, folding her arms at Sokka who whistled innocently. Katara wore a expression on her face and Suki smothered a laugh under her glove. "Go on, the prisoners are inside."

"I wish you wouldn't call them that," sighed Katara. "They're just kids."

"The one in red blew up a good portion of the street." Replied Suki as she unlocked the cell.

Inside the cell, a pair of boys sat, both around their ages. One of them sported a wicked scar, a burn scar, over the side of his face. The second was out cold, still sleeping but wore the oddest yellow and tan clothing.

"You come to get me out of this dump?" groused the conscious one.

"That depends," replied Katara. "What's your name?"

"I told you, I'm Zuko of the Fire Nation. I want to speak with Uncle. I know he's here." Responded the boy.

"And just WHO is your uncle?" replied Sokka. "Some bigshot here in Ba Sing Se?"

"You could say that," said Zuko. "Look, if you're not going to let me out, get the kid to a hospital."

Katara knelt beside the boy who still remained asleep. Placing a hand on his forehead, she frowned. "He's not burning up or anything."

"Yeah but he was tortured by Azulon forces," snapped back Zuko. "Just get him to a hospital and get him checked out."

Katara sighed. This was one of the times she hated being team leader, even if the team was just her and Sokka. "All right. And we'll get your uncle for you. In the meantime, just stay here and try and not antagonize the guards, okay?"

Zuko scowled but nodded.

*

*

"Your story checks out," said Sokka, returning a half hour later. "Katara's moved the kid to a hospital and you're free to go. C'mon, I'm taking you to see General Iroh."

"FINALLY," proclaimed Zuko, getting up and holding out his hands for the cuffs to the keys. Suki unlocked them and he massaged them. "Where's Uncle right now?"

"Main command tower," replied Suki as she lead him out of the building, Sokka following from the rear. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se proper, PRINCE Zuko."

"Wait what?" inquired Sokka and Zuko smirked. "Prince? No way in hell you're a prince."

"And why's that?" responded Zuko.

:"Princes don't run around in the wastes," replied Sokka in a know-it-all voice. "They just simply sit in the upper quarter doing nothing."

Zuko reached over and grabbed the Water Tribe boy by the front of his blue shirt. "Don't. Start. With. Me. I've had the shittiest three years possible. Don't. Even." Then he released Sokka who brushed his shirt off.

"Testy," he muttered to Suki in a low voice.

Suki glared at Sokka. "If Ranger Black would learn to keep his mouth shut, things like this wouldn't happen."

Sokka opened his mouth to reply but then a device at his side chirped. Pulling it out and flipping it open, he said, "Sokka here."

"Sokka, there's a shield breach in Sector 12. North side of town near the water intakes. You're closest."

"Where's my backup?" replied Sokka and Zuko looked at Sokka curiously.

"Negative. Ranger Series Blue is across town. It will take her 10 minutes to arrive. You are a go for interception of the Azulon attack bot." replied the synthesized voice on the other end.

"Aw damnit," groused Sokka as he flipped the phone closed. "Hate to break and run but get going to the command tower you two. Attack bot just busted in."

"Wait what?" proclaimed Zuko, aghast. "What's it look like?"

"Dunno," replied Sokka, smirking as he pulled a small square from a tag that was hanging around his neck. "But it's my job to knock it down. Suki, get princey to safety. I'll handle this guy."

"Be careful," said Suki, grasping Zuko's arm and attempting to lead him away.

Slotting the device into the top and locking it into place, Sokka swung the device around before tabbing a switch. "A.D.S.! MAX DRIVE!"

Light exploded and a eruption of fire exploded out from behind him as the transformation took a hold of the teenager. In an instant, a black-suited form resolved from the explosion of light. His helmet had a stylized look to it as if it was designed as the head of an animal and he tore off with a screeching of tires on pavement.

Zuko stared, going a little cross-eyed with the effect. "What… was that?"

"That, was our first and last line of defence against the Azulon attack bots: the Powered Recon Advanced Natural aGgression and dEfender Rescue Series." Explained Suki. "Power Rangers for short."

*

*

Water. Fire. Earth. Air.

One hundred years ago, our people lived in peace. A great wave of technology rose to greet our progress. Sword changed hands for gun. Silver became common place to purchase computers. And all was at peace. That was however until a deadly virus was unleashed upon our world.

Codenamed Azulon, it devastated our technology, rendering us incapable to fight against the march of the relentless soldiers that it created. People cried out for the Avatar, the embodiment of the four elements, to save them. But when there was no response, the world fell to Azulon's relentless march.

It is here, in the last desperate bastion of humanity, we live in Ba Sing Se. Its great walls are covered in a dome that will protect us all from the harsh wastelands our world has become. And the only hope left is in the hands of what remains of our means to fight aggression.

*

*

Power Rangers A.D.S.

Power Rangers is owned and copyright Disney Entertainment. Avatar the Last Airbender is owned by Nickelodeon.

*

*

The Gates Of Ba Sing Se

*

*

"Series Blue, ETA?"

"Almost there Doctor T," reported Katara as she revved the throttle of her motorcycle. The engine screamed as she tore through the streets, swerving around the remaining traffic that was being diverted from Sector 12. "I'm in a bit of a traffic jam."

"Continue on your predesignated route Series Blue," stated the distorted voice of Doctor T. "The Dragons are moving the civilians out of the way, diverting traffic."

"Coulda told you that," muttered Katara as she threw the cycle into a higher gear. "Almost there."

Suddenly, an explosion blossomed upwards from behind a tall building and a form came screaming out of the sky. Katara screeched to a halt a moment before the form hit the ground with a resounding thud. "Hang on, I just found Series Black."

"Did anyone get the number of that attack bot?" groaned Sokka as he sat up, holding his helmeted head.

"Boom time is no go time?" quipped Katara and Sokka gave his sister a glare. "Hey just saying…"

"Just suit up already!" groaned Sokka, getting to his feet.

"Fine, fine." With a hint of a smile on her face, Katara swung the device around. "A.D.S. MAX DRIVE!"

In an instant, a flash of light consumed her and the girl stood there dressed in blue, her own helmet stylized like a bird. "Now what are we up against?"

Without waiting for a reply, the attack bot slammed into the ground in front of them and bared its teeth as it waved its silly looking pipes around.

"That," replied Sokka blandly as the Pipinator charged at the pair.

"Joy." Katara reacted immediately as she swung her arms forward, bending the water in the air into a series of sharp ice spikes and launching them at the attack bot who parried most of them. As it closed in, Sokka swung in with his sword, the black metal of the meteorite blade slicing through one of the pipes it held as weapons.

The attack bot reeled as it swung and Sokka parried its attack, landing a blow that sliced open the front. Sidestepping neatly in tandem, Katara launched a deadly barrage of water that hardened into pinpoint spikes that drove itself deep into the machines circuitry. It made a metallic groaning squeal as its eyes lit up.

"WHOA!" proclaimed Katara as she dove out of the place she was standing before it was lit up with a flurry of laser blasts. "Sokka!"

"On it!" Sokka charged headlong through the laser blasts, parrying most of them before he leaped high into the air. "Meteor Kick!" roared the teen as his outstretched leg blazed with black light. He struck home, kicking out several times and driving the enemy backwards. Metal caved inwards and the machine leaked fluid from every port as he finished off his sequence of kicks and leaped backwards just in time for a trail of ice to engulf the enemy attack bot.

Making a crushing gesture with her hand, Katara crushed the attack bot, shoving ice into the frame. The machine sparked and hissed and then exploded in a hail of scraps and mech fluid.

Sokka whooped loudly and cheered. "Yeah! That's GOT to be a new record!"

"Don't let your guard down Sokka," warned Katara as the remains slumped over as she released it from the icy prison. "It could still be functional."

"Aw c'mon, you totally shoved ice into its systems and it went BOOM! I dunno what it could possibly do."

Unknown to the pair, the attack bot was in fact still functioning. With what remained of its power, it moved the good pipe into position and energy glowed from it, targeting Katara. There was a low whine that built up and Katara didn't even notice until a voice yelled, "DOWN!"

Instinctively she hit the pavement as a beam scorched the air where her head was previously, and a blade stabbed into the head of the attack bot. It whimpered electronically and the function went out. "You should always make sure these things are dead," said Zuko as he withdrew the sword from its brain. "Azulon tech usually has some kind of backup last minute function. Best to sever the head before you do anything else."

"T-Thanks," said Katara, getting up from the ground as Suki ran up.

"Zuko!" yelled Suki angrily, hitting him on the arm.

"OW! What was that for?!"

"For RUNNING OFF," snapped Suki, looking every inch the officer she was. "If you didn't notice, they had it under control."

"I did what I had to," replied Zuko gruffly. "The attack bot woulda taken off that person's head."

"That person is also a Power Ranger," reminded Suki. "She can survive it. Right?"

"Y-yeah," said Katara, completely embarrassed as she rubbed the back of her helmet. "I could have."

Zuko fidgeted a little. "Fine. Just, lets get to the tower. Before I go completely nuts with a lack of explanations here."

*

*

"Uncle… can't… breathe… crushing… ribs…!"

General Iroh released his nephew and mussed his hair fondly. "I thought you had died nephew," said Iroh, trying not to cry happily in front of his men. Several of the Dragons smothered smiles. "Did you find your family?"

"No… I didn't," replied Zuko. "I'm still looking but mark my words I'll find them soon."

"Mmmm," grunted Iroh. "Perhaps for now, it is best to rest here in Ba Sing Se, while we can maintain the shield. I see you also have met our defenders."

"I have, though they're not quite what I expected," admitted Zuko, looking at Sokka and Katara who had depowered to standby and were waiting in the background. Sokka was already digging a finger into his ear and Katara whapped him on the head. "I have to admit, there's DEFINITELY not what I expected."

"Sometimes the best things come out of the unexpected," reminded Iroh as he offered his nephew some tea. Zuko took a cup but didn't drink it yet. "They were hand selected by Doctor T, the genius behind our ability to fight back against the Azulon Virus."

"They look younger than I am. How can they be qualified to use spandex armor that somehow protects them from attack bots?"

"Hey, it's not spandex," insisted Suki and Zuko raised an eyebrow at her. "they're a nanotech fibre. At least what Doctor T insists they are."

"This old man still needs a crash course in them," chuckled Iroh as Suki settled back to her console. "In any case nephew, I'd like you to go see Doctor T, AND that new visitor you brought with you. Where did you find him?"

"In the wastes, wandering the ruins of a Azulon Facility," replied Zuko. "I thought I had a lead on my sister, but all I found was this kid wandering there as if he was in a daze. I knew he needed medical help cause he looked half dead. And the torture marks on his body made me hurry back. Unfortunately SOME people don't remember just who's the nephew of General Iroh," he said sourly, thinking of the time he spent in prison due to a mishap.

"Very interesting," mused the general. "Very well. Katara?"

Katara snapped to attention. "Yes General?"

Iroh waved down her formality with a placating gesture. "Dear girl, call me Iroh. In any case, can you go check on our new visitor for us? I have a car waiting for you. Also, Sokka?"

"Yes sir?" said Sokka and Iroh rolled his eyes.

"Will you show Zuko to the testing facility?"

"Testing facility? WHAT testing facility?" inquired Zuko with the tone that he wasn't going to like this.

Iroh turned a winning smile onto his nephew and said, "Doctor T has taken great interest in our family. Please do whatever the good doctor tells you to."

"Why does the sense of impending doom always come at the last moment?" wondered Zuko outloud as he was dragged away by Sokka.

"By your leave sir," said Katara, heading out the door.

Iroh sat down, completely pleased with himself.

*

*

"Any change?"

"A little," replied the nurse on duty, a young graduate named Meng. She and Katara were familiar with each other since Katara often came to the hospital after a particularly vicious attack bot made its way into the dome. "He keeps fidgeting which means he's close to consciousness but I can't tell anything beyond a spike in REM once in a while."

"I wonder what he's dreaming about," said Katara, sitting down next to the boy's bed. "And what he was doing out in the wastes."

"You think he could be a survivor?" inquired Meng, adjusting the sheets around the boy in order to prevent him from tangling up in them.

"Most likely. Sokka and I were survivors when we first came to Ba Sing Se with our father before we became Rangers."

Reaching over, she tentatively touched his hands and were surprised. "Meng look at this. His hands are fairly smooth still."

Meng reached down and examined them. "Yeah, they are. You'd think someone who was out in the wastelands would be chapped and what not, but despite the scars that are healing…"

"Did you find anything else about him?" inquired Katara. "Any markings?"

Meng pursed her lips and then reached down, turning his arm to the side. "Look at these. They're ritual tattoos."

"Arrows…" mused Katara. "But no one has arrows tattooed anymore… do you think he's…?"

"I think so," said Meng. "I'm positive since I doubled in history. He's an airbender; or at least one of the tribe."

"That means they're not all wiped out," said Katara, hope surging. "That means there's still MORE survivors out there!"

A warning beep issued from the monitor and Meng looked up. "His BP is rising. I think he's waking."

Katara and Meng scrambled, preparing the boy as the monitors began to sound more and more alerts. The steady beeping rose sharply and then with a jerk, the boy awoke.

The boy opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Katara hovering over him. "Are you awake now?" she asked.

"…" said the boy, staring at her and then at Meng.

"Hello? Can you understand us?" inquired Meng.

"… wa…ter..?" managed the boy.

"Oh! Of course. One second." Dashing out, Meng grabbed a cup and a straw and filled the water and dumped ice in it before dashing back. With effort, the boy swallowed a mouthful.

"Thanks," he rasped out.

"No problem," said Meng. "Can you sit up? Do you know your name?"

"My name?" echoed the boy. His expression clouded into confusion and he seemed to be thinking hard. "My… name? … I don't remember my name…"

Katara and Meng shared a look of concern.

*

*

"Physically he's fine," sighed the doctor on duty. "Even with the signs of Azulon torture, those scars are healing well. Almost phenomenally well. XRays show that there's no sign of Azulon tech so we'll be all right with that. But his memory loss, and the fact that he keeps looking at everything strangely makes me wonder."

"Can you help him?" inquired Katara. "the patient was found in the wastes according to Zuko."

"I wouldn't know where to begin," sighed the doctor. "You must understand that I've never treated amnesia, or even selective amnesia. And even then we know little about Air Nomad tribal medicine to make a difference. He does however seem to take to the treatments well, if questioning everything in sight. I think I'm growing tired of the phrase "What's that"."

"Keep at it," reminded Katara. "I've got orders from Doctor T to bring him to the testing site."

"Huh. Would that kid make the cut?" inquired the doctor.

"That's what Doctor T wants to find out. The report interested the Doctor so we'll have to see what comes up."

"Well, the more help we have the better," replied the doctor. "I'll let you know of his condition changes."

"Thanks Jet," replied Katara as she left. Heading down the stairs and through the hospital doors, she picked up her helmet.

"What's this?" Katara jumped at the voice as the nameless boy was standing in front of the motorcycle, poking it. "Is it like one of those horseless carriages that I keep seeing outside my window?"

"… what are you doing outside your hospital bed?" inquired Katara incredulously.

"I wanted to see where you were going," replied the boy innocently. "And this place is so weird! Did you know they have places that can make ice on a whim?"

Katara groaned. "It's not healthy for you to be out right now, you're still recovering. C'mon, I'm going to take you back there."

"Don't really want to. It smells weird." Replied the boy.

"That's because it's sterile," replied Katara. "That means clean. Now c'mon!"

"But can't I go with you?"

Katara felt like tearing her hair out.

*

*

"I didn't know you were babysitting," smirked Sokka. He got a book to the head.

"I'm not. He just wanted to come along with me," replied Katara, gesturing to the boy who was running around, checking out everything in the testing facility. "Hey, don't touch everything!"

"Hey what's this button do?" inquired the boy, pressing a button on the console.

Sokka, who had gotten up and was getting an ice back for the bump, screamed like a girl as he was blasted by a cannon from inside the fridge. "ooooooooh…" the boy inched away from the button.

"Please don't touch that button. EVER." Resounded a voice from the monitors. The boy looked around for the voice and it added, "Over here."

The boy scampered up to the screens which was emblazoned a large T on the front with a white background. "Hello, I am Doctor T."

The boy turned to Katara and said, "Katara? The wall's talking."

"I am not a wall," snapped Doctor T testily.

From an inside room, the door hissed open as Zuko stumbled out a little dizzily. "Testing is complete," said Doctor T as Zuko stumbled to a chair. "I will have the results shortly."

"Great." Zuko looked at the kid who he dragged into Ba Sing Se with him and said, "You're awake?"

"Yep!" said the boy cheerfully.

"Great. So what's your name?"

The boy's expression turned inward in thought. "Uh… can I get back to you on that?"

Zuko blinked. "What, you've got amnesia?"

"I think that's what the doctor guy told me I had," said the boy, shrugging.

"I have the results of the tests," said Doctor T, forestalling any further argument. "Candidate Zuko, you meet the standards of becoming the operator of Series Red. Congratulations."

Zuko let out a gust of air. "So that means I get to wear spandex or something?"

Sokka and Katara cringed at the possible explosion but instead, the wall slid open revealing a case with the Series Red Morpher. "Take it, before I lose my temper," said Doctor T and even through the distorted voice, one could hear the grinding of teeth.

"R-Right." Zuko picked up the device and the engine cell. But before the wall vault could close, the boy popped into view and picked up another one and the engine cell.

"Put that back," said Doctor T as the boy examined it in the light.

"So what does this do anyhow?" inquired the boy curiously of the cell phone.

"It is a device to deploy a armor and weapon system, so put it down. NOW." Snapped Doctor T.

"But how does it work?" inquired the boy again.

"It's easy," said Sokka blithely. "You just put that engine cell in the top, close it and press the big red button."

"You mean like this?" In a deft move, the boy slotted in the cell and pressed the big red button.

"NO!" chorused the entire room but it was too late. In a flash of yellow light, the nameless boy was wearing the outfit of the Series Yellow.

The boy reached up, touching his head and his hands and chest before proclaiming, "COOOOOL!"

"THAT IS NOT A TOY!" yelled Doctor T, the speakers virtually vibrating from the force of the doctors shout. "It'll take me WEEKS to reverse the genetic lock on the device!"

"Genetic… wot?" echoed the boy.

"Kid, you have a lot to learn, don't you?" sighed Zuko. "Hey Doc, am I allowed to even use mine?"

"Go… just go… damnit…"

Zuko rolled his eyes, jacked in his own engine cell and bound it to himself.

*

*

"Man, I have NEVER seen Doctor T so hacked off before – and we've never seen em before!" proclaimed Sokka through a mouthful of pizza.

The boy was picking at the food, or rather pulling the meat off the slice before he nibbled at the end of it. Katara sighed. "Give it a rest Sokka, what's done is done. And no, you're not in trouble kid."

"I'm not a kid, I'm 13," said the nameless boy.

"That being said," added Zuko through a mouthful of food, "We need to give you a name."

"I vote Bob the Lucky," said Sokka and everyone glared at him. "Hey, it's better than anything else we could come up with."

"Well lets see… you're from Air Nomads right?" said Katara and the boy shrugged. "Well your tattoos say so. But um, lets see…"

"How about Aang?" said Zuko. "Sound good?"

"Aang it is," proclaimed Sokka.

"Hey you can't just go choosing his name without him agreeing to it first," protested Katara but the boy touched her arm.

"I like it. Aang. All right, I'll be Aang." Said the boy, his expression faraway.

"Well then Aang, welcome to the Power Rangers," said Sokka, raising a glass of chilled tea in salute.

"To the rangers, and to Aang," echoed Katara and Zuko raised his glass as well.

Aang raised his glass. "To me. And to my new friends."


	2. Chapter 2: First Steps

First Steps

*

*

"Ranger Series Yellow, what are you doing?"

Aang grunted as he wrestled with the unfamiliar controls of the Flying Bison Zord. The mammoth machine lifted one of its six legs and it came down on a stall. When it raised the leg again, a pitched scream of "MY CABBAGES!" echoed from the frantic stall owner. "Uh… walking?" replied Aang, trying to pull the leg up further but only succeeded into pulping said cabbages into a gooey paste. "It's harder than it looks."

"Series Yellow, pull up on the control stick and press the throttle," instructed Doctor T, the synthesized voice sounding far more irritated than it needed to be. "Series Red, Blue, Black, status report."

"Well we knocked it down," replied Sokka, pulling the Megazord to its feet. The attack bot started to shove itself upright and he sighed. "Can we get back to you on that Doctor T?"

"Series Blue?"

"Energy reserves are down to 72% with structural damage across two zords," replied Katara, wrestling with the controls to keep the machine upright. "Dragon-Hawk and Penguin Otter have sustained damage. Left motivator is down. Unable to hold the Horn Saber."

"Understood," replied Doctor T. "Series Yellow, follow the instructions I am downloading to your zord and begin uplink with the A.D.S. Megazord."

"Okay…" as the script scrawled across the screen, Aang tapped the side of his helmet and said, "Uh… Doctor T?"

"What is it now?"

"I um… I can't read this."

Dead silence. Even the attack bot seemed to notice the awkwardness and paused for a brief moment. That however was enough time for Zuko to wrestle the left motivator back online. "Sokka!"

"Huh? OH RIGHT! Deploying Horn Saber."

*

*

"You can't read," groused Doctor T, the screens flashing in irritation. "Is there anything ELSE you'd like to share with us Series Yellow?"

Aang shuffled his feet, feeling all for the world like he was standing in front of a teacher or perhaps a principal. "It's not that I can't read it's just that the characters are unfamiliar to me."

"I see…" Aang shuffled and fidgeted a little more. "We will need to correct this. Series Blue?"

"Yes Doctor T?" said Katara, looking up from her magazine.

"Please instruct Series Yellow on the basics of our script and reading comprehension."

Before Katara could protest, the screens powered off. "Wow," remarked Sokka. "Doctor T must REALLY be upset with the way the last battle went."

"There was a lot of property damage Sokka," reminded Zuko as he looked up from where he was working on a new cherry-red sports car. "Aang crushed several stands, destroyed a portion of the delivery chutes and to boot, whomped the public library."

"Don't forget about the cabbage stand," pointed out Aang and Zuko rolled his eyes.

Pulling a book from the shelves, Katara opened it to the first page and handed it to Aang. "Can you read any of this?"

Aang peered at the characters and frowned, rubbing his forehead. A minute passed as he peered closely and then said, "They look KIND of familiar but…"

"So you recognise any of it?" inquired Katara.

"Well… this one here means fire… and this is water… is this legendary?"

"Dictionary actually," said Katara. "So this is a good sign. You KNOW how to read but some of our characters are unfamiliar right now. How about writing?"

"Oh I'm good at that," replied Aang as he reached for the brush and found a pen. "Uh… what's this?"

"A pen," said Sokka. "You use it to write."

"But… where's the ink? And the brush?"

Sokka, Katara and Zuko shared a look. Not knowing how to read properly was one thing. Asking for a brush was outdated at best.

"This… is going to be harder than we thought," remarked Sokka, summing up everyone's thoughts, Aang included.

*

*

"I've managed to narrow some specifics down about Aang Doctor T," said Katara, reporting to the screen. "For instance, some of the things he knows, his ability to write and read are intact, but the knowledge is actually outdated by our standards. At least a hundred years or so."

"Not to mention he doesn't know basic plumbing. Had to show him how to use a shower after the last battle." Added Sokka. "And there's those clothes he's always wearing too. Seriously outdated even by our own culture."

"Well, that's a bit of a misnomer," put in Zuko. "He's actually wearing the latest fashions from a hundred years ago. PLUS? They're all hand-made and not by a machine. Most of the fashions from that time and age have been duplicated."

"So we have a bit of a mystery on our hands," finished Katara. "Any thoughts on this Doctor T?"

There was a long silence from the computer screen before Doctor T replied. "The clothing could be easily explained by him taking it from a old ruined display. However, I am certain that with time, he will be able to read and write our modern script. Apparently whoever raised him must have used heavily outdated history books to do so. I can think of no other logical explanation."

The trio looked over at Aang who was currently spinning happily on a chair around and around, laughing. "Sure," drawled Sokka. "And I'm sure he's this happy go lucky in a total apocalyptic warzone."

"Series Blue, Black, Red, it is your duty to bring him up to speed. All of you." A barrage of raised protests were heard but Doctor T added, "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY." Backing down, the trio sighed. "Now then, I suggest you all get to work."

*

*

"So where's the chopsticks?" inquired Aang as he worked at chopping some vegetables for his evening meal.

"Oh we don't use those anymore," said Katara. "When the war started against Azulon, it became difficult to manufacture and hand-carve the chopsticks used in daily life. Somewhere along the line, a man developed the knife and fork and spoon."

"Oh," said Aang, holding up the large chopping knife. "And the fire thing?"

'That's a stove," replied Katara as she chopped up some meat for Sokka's meal to add to the pot. "Like a cooking fire but more effective."

"I see. Man, you don't get those things anywhere else do you?" remarked Aang.

"Only here in Ba Sing Se," replied Katara. "Because everything was damaged outside the dome, all of humanity's developments were brought here. Everything from the old to the new; radio signals, development of television and cars, and a lot of the old such as ostritch-horse drawn carts, the earthbender mail delivery system's that were brought over from Omashu…"

"I remember those," said Aang, a little wistfully. "Bumi loved them."

Katara blinked, a little surprised at the coincidence but didn't press. She did however wonder if he visited Omashu in the past. It held out the longest before the people were forced to evacuate to Ba Sing Se, leaving the city in ruins to the relentless machine march. "In any case, we've been improving our lives a little by little every day, but Ba Sing Se is still stuck in the past so to speak. Improvements to the quality of life HAVE been implemented but there's such a huge division of the population."

"What do you mean?" inquired Aang. "The city seems fine, or at least from what I've seen."

Katara frowned a little as she cut a bit of meat a little too viciously, making the kitchen table vibrate. "When Sokka and I arrived from what was left of the Southern Water Tribe with our dad, we were immediately shunted into the poorest part of the city. The division between the wealthy and the rich persists, and the wait time to get a home in a place that isn't a slum is high. Sokka and I were lucky enough to get out of there because our dad, Chief Hakoda was able to get an audience with General Iroh and get himself instilled as a military advisor. Not soon after that, Doctor T found us and we became Rangers."

"So that's why you don't live with your parents. Anyone else that you came with?"

"Gran-Gran," replied Katara automatically. "She lives in a fairly decent part of the city, the townhouse that dad managed to get for all of us. Sokka and I though haven't been home in a while."

"It must be nice having family still," replied Aang. "I can't remember anything past the day I woke up in the hospital. I don't even know if there's any of my family who're waiting for me or not."

Sensing that the topic had gone onto an uncomfortable subject, Katara asked, "So Aang, what's with the pure vegetarianism? Trying to cut down on meat?"

"All life is sacred, including meat animals," replied Aang automatically. "I dunno why I just know, you know?"

"Must have been something you remembered at least," smiled Katara. "That's good. Sokka pretty much takes up our Meat and Potatoes budget and there's always vegetables left over. C'mon, help me strain these beets."

*

*

"Series Yellow, pull up," instructed Doctor T. Another attack bot had shown itself the day after in the wee early hours of the morning and the Rangers had been deployed. Azulon had obviously realized that there was a weakness and the machine had been supersized immediately, cutting the middle man of a ground battle. "Pull UP before you hit a building."

"Trying to," grunted Aang as he wrestled with the control stick. The giant grey-matted bison groaned and thrashed, unwilling to cooperate with the commands the Ranger was trying to give him. "But this thing isn't responding to me!"

"That's what happens when your biofields aren't interacting properly," replied the Doctor as Aang managed to level off the Bison Zord. "Interlink protocols are down at the moment. You'll have to move in solo and attack the bot directly."

"Well whatever you do Aang? Better do it soon," grunted Zuko as he pulled the zord to a standing position. "Deploy the sword."

"Got it. Deplying Horn Saber." From the front of the zord, two decorative horns popped up and spun into the zords hand. With a flourish, the zord pulled both halves apart and sliced across the front of the attack bot. The silly looking mess of cables and wires reeled and fired a oversized garden hose.

"Whoa!" proclaimed Sokka, lifting the leg of the zord as the hose tried to wrap around the leg. The zord stumbled backwards as more and more hoses lashed out, scoring hits across the front of the zord. Many of them were parried and Sokka let out a "WOO!" as the zord was sent toppling to the ground. "We need that firepower like yesterday Aang!"

"Series Yellow, stop fighting with the zord," instructed Doctor T as Aang tried to pull up. "It will respond in time. It's a Flying Bison, the most temperamental of animals in history."

Flying Bison… Flying Bison… Flying Bison….

Something deep inside Aang awoke as he stopped fighting with the zord. Exhaling, he reached out and touched the controls, closing his eyes. "You're frightened too, huh buddy?" The machine thrummed, as if it was responding and Aang patted the controls. Readouts beeped loudly as energy started to flow correctly between the pair, as if bonding with each other. "Don't be. I'm here with you."

"AANG! LITTLE HELP HERE?!" cut in Katara through the radio.

Aang's eyes snapped open as he took controls. "Lets go." And he proclaimed, "YIP YIP!"

Automatically the machine launched itself into the air as the dull grey finish changed to a brilliant yellow color. A large arrow painted itself across the front of the Bison's head as Aang proclaimed, "Open fire!"

The machine opened its giant mouth, letting out a bellow before cannons popped out. A strafing barrage of missiles slammed into the attack bot, knocking it to the ground.

"An opening!" proclaimed Zuko. "MAX SABER STRIKE!"

*

*

"Yip yip?" said Sokka incredulously as they entered the garage. "Where did you come up with THAT?"

"I dunno I thought it was appropriate," replied Aang, shrugging. "And it worked since the Bison responded to me."

"Aang it's a machine. A machine with DNA in it to make it immune to the Azulon virus," reminded Katara.

Aang shook his head. "No, it's more than that. Something inside it seemed alive; really alive. And I think it finally stopped fighting with me and now we're working together as partners. I'm gonna name him Appa."

"Well there's a first," snorted Zuko. "A 300 ton death machine being given a name."

"I like it," said Katara. "Appa it is."

"I seriously hope we don't need to name the rest of them, considering that Appa just gained the Big Googly Anime Eyes Finish," remarked Sokka offhanded as he opened the fridge.

Everyone ignored the resulting blast as Sokka was hurled into the wall via Fridge Cannon. "Oh and Doctor T's sensitive about that last part," reminded Katara. "Just an fyi."

"R-right."


	3. Chapter 3: Ranger Red

Ranger Red

*

*

"And then he said 'That's no penguin-bear, that's my wife!' GET IT? HUH?!"

Aang had this dumbfounded look on his face as Katara was in the middle of a truly epic facepalm. "What, you don't get it?" said Sokka. "You see, the penguin-bear is…"

"We got it the first time Sokka," interrupted Katara.

"I don't get it," added Aang, causing the other's expression to drop.

As part of Aang's conditioning to the new level of technology and customs, Katara had suggested they go out to a fast food restaurant. The three were sitting in a booth and Aang sipped his shake before clutching his head. Then he would sip again and clutch.

"So why didn't Zuko come with us?" inquired Sokka. "This is like the best burger joint in town."

"He had to go see his uncle," said Katara. "Something about a report."

*

*

Iroh cupped his tea, inhaling the scent of the jasmine before sipping carefully. "Mmm," he said before taking another sip. "Come in nephew. You've been standing there for the last ten minutes."

The door slid open as Zuko wore a surprised look on his face. "How'd you know I was at the door uncle?"

"A father always knows when a child is hiding from the parent," replied Iroh with a smile. "That, and I have camera feeds for the door."

"Oh." Replied Zuko lamely as he walked in, the door sliding shut behind him before he saluted.

"There's no need to salute nephew," reminded Iroh. "Have a seat."

"I'm fine," replied Zuko stiffly. "I've come to give my report on the long-term reconnaissance mission I undertook."

Iroh set down his tea and folded his hands. "Go on nephew. Let's hear it."

"I'm sorry to report that after three years in the wastes, I have been unable to penetrate the island chains of the Fire Nation currently designated hostile territory, as well as locate any surviving family members of the Fire Nation Royal Family, ourselves excepted."

"This is troubling news," said Iroh, stroking his beard. "No sign you say?"

"None," replied Zuko, the stiffness deflating from his stance. "Uncle… I looked everywhere. I can't find anyone. Not dads, nor mom, not even my sister. I tried sneaking into the Fire Nation but Azulon's got the place too heavily guarded. I evaded capture about four times in the last ten weeks alone."

"Which leaves us the last survivors so far." Iroh looked at his nephew. "But that's not all you came for, is it Zuko? For there is another reason why you came back."

"Yeah. I came to ask for permission go to back into the wastes. With this new Ranger tech, I can finally get a clue, maybe a lead, blow up a facility here and there after rescuing the people inside." Said Zuko. "I've got a chance to prove that I'm worthy of this power."

"Permission denied Zuko," stated Iroh, causing the teen to stare in shock. "I cannot risk you to go into the wastes, especially with Ranger Technology under your control."

"But uncle!" protested Zuko. "People are at stake out there; I know there's survivors. Survivors who are holding out against the Azulon forces. Our own FAMILY is out there, possibly alive! I can't just stand here and—"

"ENOUGH!" snapped Iroh, causing the teen to jump. "Enough Zuko. You have done enough for now."

Sighing tiredly, the man stood and circled around his desk. "I allowed you to head into the wastes once. For three years we were out of contact. I do not want to go another three without knowing you are safe."

"So I just have to stand here? Twiddle my thumbs while Azulon attacks the dome?" demanded Zuko. "I can't uncle. Not until I know if my family, OUR family, is back and safe. Or worse. I need to know uncle. Please."

Iroh inhaled, blew out a gust of hot air and sighed. "I will bring it up with the next meeting. Opening the dome to the outside is more dangerous every time we do it. The chance of a shield breach is inevitable. Please wait for a day, and then I will decide."

"Thank you uncle," said Zuko, saluting. Iroh saluted and the teen left, leaving the man feeling like he had aged twenty years.

*

*

The Fire Nation.

Once a great bastion of steam-powered technology, what was left of the once fertile land due to its volcanic soil was nothing more than a mess of a black spire of a mechanical monstrocity. Grinders, foot soldiers of the Azulon forces marched relentlessly, their armor and design similar to the ancient Fire Nation military in a cruel paradox.

In the uppermost part of the tower, a pair of robots debated hotly.

"I think he's mad," remarked the first robot. He was a hulking brute of a war machine, bristling with spires and weapons. His overall appearance was that of a general with massive black head protections that gave him the appearance of a armoured samurai or perhaps someone with really big sideburns.

The second robot shot his companion a look. "No, really?" Much slimmer than his companion, it was obvious that he was built for information and tactics. An array of antenna protruded from his head like a crown, and his face-plate was thin and his eyes slit and narrow. "I would have thought that was obvious Zhao."

"Can it, or I'll shove the next tactic of yours down your processor Ozai," grumbled Zhao, obviously agitated that the last attack bot had failed.

"Silence," thundered the machine with the eerie glowing red eye in the middle of the room. "Your prattle annoys me creations. Know your places."

"A thousand apologizes oh great one," soothed Ozai. "We were just discussing on how to solve a problem."

"A very easily solved problem," grumbled Zhao and Azulon thundered again.

"Enough. Fortunately for the two of you, I have come up with a solution. I have time and time again refined the series Hybrids and come up with a new development."

An automated process reached into the depths of a series of robots and pulled a form from it. "Behold, the latest in infiltration technology. Azulon 4."

"It looks…" Zhao fumbled for the words.

"Human, is what we wish to say," added Ozai as the form was set down. "Great one, why…?"

"Because it is a tactic that no one expects," rumbled the supervirus as the being opened its eyes in activation. "Azulon 4, or "Azula" will be able to perform the tactics that we are lacking. Stealth, infiltration, and most importantly sabotage."

"Excellent strategy great one, I knew this was a good idea," said Ozai and he nudged his partner.

"Yeah, completely worth it," added Zhao.

*

*

"My king, if you look at the reports they are clear in black and white," said a man dressed in the traditional robes of office. "Countless valuable historical sites damaged in the last attack. A giant footprint in our nations best row of statues and to top it all off, numerous complaints of vandalism of cabbages. Dear members of the council are you willing to continue to put the safety of Ba Sing Se in our hands of children?"

"Those children also have the means to repel the invaders time and time again," pointed out a wizened and elderly man on the council. He gnawed on a piece of candy loudly, the crackle of gems under his teeth loud. "In fact," he added through a mouthful, "I think he's done way more good than your Dai Li ever did Long Feng."

"The Dai Li are the preservers of the cultural importance of Ba Sing Se, not police or enforcers or RANGERS," pointed out Long Feng.

"They are still our best hope against the attacks," said Iroh, folding his hands in front of him. "The technology can only be maintained by Doctor T. Isn't that right?"

"General Iroh is correct," said the screen with the familiar black T on the front of it. "In fact, the Ranger Series biohardware is the only thing that we can rely on so far. There has been a sharp increase in Azulon technology at an astonishing rapid pace, and we are matching it pace for pace."

"I beg to differ. Last week the new yellow pilot destroyed the library, causing billions of coin in damages!" exclaimed Long Feng. "The amount of money required to repair the library will not only set back the cultural preservation act of this city, but endanger countless more lives when another attack lands directly atop it."

"You are so obsessed with the culture Long Feng," remarked the elderly man who was chomping on a new piece of rock candy. "Sit down for a spell, relax a little."

"I am relaxed," retorted Long Feng sharply. "Council, if you agree to it, I propose that we, the Dai Li, move to preserve more of the natural history. Without the resources, we are unable to continue sustaining our way of life."

"As much as we'd love to continue Long Feng, the fact is that we are under siege by a threat that has devastated our own world, stripping much of its resources," said the king finally. "Without the resources at hand as well as the brave men and women to be utilized for manpower to cut the stone and work the fields outside the city, we are thus far, unable to continue repairing every single monument that is damaged."

"The council rests on the decision. Funding for the preservation act will be shortened, in order to repair the dwellings and buildings suffered by the damage," said Iroh, getting a nod from the other two minus Long Feng. "There has been a sharp incline in the homeless Long Feng. Surely you would not want to be one yourself when the next attack hits?"

"No." Rolling up his scrolls, Long Feng tucked it under his arm. "By your leave council." Bowing, he left the room.

As Long Feng left, Iroh sighed as the other elderly man chomped again on the rock candy, finishing it off with a smacking of fingers and lips. "That went better than I expected."

"He's a stubborn man," replied Bumi. "With the sharp increase in technology, the emphasis on a cultural way of life has all been drastically reduced to nothing. Thus being said? We're in for a fight on our hands and not just from the Azulon virus."

"I must agree on this point," remarked the king as he rubbed Bosco, his Bear's head. "Long Feng has been shunting resources to repair the cultural artefacts first, and leaving many people homeless and without food or water for ages."

"It gets worse," said Doctor T. "my sources indicate that he's also been skiving from the royal treasury to do this."

"A man with a cause can be as dangerous as a man with a spear or sword," mused Iroh sadly. "I hope this will not come to ruin."

*

*

Long Feng struck the table in front of him. To their credit, the Dai Li agents around him did not jump at the action. "Cowards," he spat angrily, sweeping his arm aside and throwing countless scrolls to the floor. "Can't they see that we need to preserve this land? There is nothing worse than the total destruction of our way of life! Its an outrage its…!" Long Feng stared at one of the men across from him with curious white pieces in his ears. "What… is… that?"

"Latest media device sir," said the man, holding up the device. "I bought it for my daughter but she didn't like it."

Long Feng TWITCHED.

Amidst a hail of scrolls, the man bolted from the scene, leaving a furious Long Feng panting after he threw the contents of his secret library at him.

"There's got to be something I can do," muttered Long Feng. "Something that will keep that blasted heretic of bending out of my hair, and the council…!"

"If you're looking for that, I can provide it," said a female voice from behind the men. Long Feng's men spun towards the intruder who moved into the light.

Long Feng studied the girl. Tall, not overly curvy but sporting a trim build. There was nothing wasted in her appearance with sharp features. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

"There's nothing my master knows that he can get me into," said the girl, yawning theatrically as the agents surrounded her. "Oh pish, 20 agents versus little old me?"

"Get her out of here. I want no more interruptions," commanded Long Feng. He turned back to his work but couldn't continue as an agent was hurled bodily into his table, cracking it in half. "WHAT?!"

The girl was like lightning, a flurry of athletic violence as she took out Dai Li agent after agent. Bones cracked and cries from the men were heard. Some of them tried to bend their way into a defence but her fists merely broke through the walls erected. A team caged her in and for a moment, it looked like it worked. Then the entire structure exploded and the girl smirked.

"My turn."

Fire burst from her hands and feet, scattering the men like paper. She bathed the caverns in hot flame, forcing the benders to retreat. As the flames roared higher, causing the stone to bake like the inside of an oven, Long Feng was backed into a wall. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The girl smirked. "My master has a name. And he sends his regards Long Feng."

"Your master…?" Long Feng swallowed. "You're one of those attack bots that ruin our fair city!"

"Oh you must mean the OTHER attack bots," purred the girl. "After all, I don't LOOK like one, do I?"

"But… the fire!"

"Firebending," she said, smirking. "It's a little thing that runs in our family. Now then, shall we talk? Cause I've got an offer you can't refuse."

*

*

"About time you got back," called out Sokka as Zuko stormed in, throwing his jacket to the side. "Talk with your uncle go well?"

"I don't want to talk about it," replied Zuko, popping the fridge open, reaching around the cannon and grabbing a soda. Popping the top with a hiss, he drank half of it down before noticing everyone was staring at him. "What?"

"I take it your meeting didn't go well," said Katara.

"To say the least." Zuko struck the side of the fridge and the cannon deployed. Sokka instinctively cringed and ducked but no answering blast greeted him. "I asked uncle if I could go back outside the dome."

"Wait, you mean willingly?" inquired Aang. "Aren't we supposed to stay here and protect this place?"

"You guys have it under control, and it wouldn't be for so long," replied Zuko. "I've got people to find out there in the wastes. And I needed more time."

"Without you, we can't even put the Megazord together let alone make certain the attack bot stays dead," pointed out Sokka. "How are we supposed to fight without you anyhow?"

"You did it before," groused Zuko.

As if on cue, the screens in Doctor T's room flickered on. "Series Red? A moment if you will."

Zuko sighed. "A little busy being grumpy Doctor T."

"It's about your request to go into the wastes. It's been denied." Stated Doctor T.

"WHAT?!" roared Zuko. "Denied?! I thought uncle was getting me clearance!"

"The council debated on the situation and found that the loss of the Series Red would be detrimental to the defence of the city. Also, there has been a curious shield breach and a spike in the heat. I'd like you all to go check it out."

The can in Zuko's hand was crushed as he threw it into the recycling bin. "I'll do it. Better than trying to get out of this damn city…" Storming out, the others watched him leave.

"Well… that didn't go so well," said Sokka.

*

*

"This is stupid," grumbled Zuko as he kicked a piece of trash away irritably as he stormed towards the direction of the environmental controls to the dome. "Can't believe uncle didn't even let me go. There's got to be a a way out of here…"

Looking around at the enormous fan, a worker looked up and waved him over. "Just in time," she said. "There's been a sharp increase in the heat index and people have been saying there's been signs of Grinders in the area."

"Fine I'll check it out," muttered Zuko. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Rear attacks," said the girl and Zuko let out a "wot?" a moment before a foot slammed into his lower back, throwing him head over heels into a pile of barrels. The worker smirked and in a flash of light, changed into a girl in metal armor. "So sad that you can't get what you want anymore," she cooed.

Zuko groaned and pushed himself back up. "Do I know you?" he asked as the girl smirked cruelly at him.

"Not yet. But you'll know it soon." A reflective visor snapped down in front of her face and she charged in. Zuko backpedalled from the flurry of blows and traded a few of his own. Jumping a sweep-kick, he was nailed solidly in the stomach and blown backwards from the force.

Coughing, he reached for his morpher and keyed in the comm.. "I could use some help Doctor T. Environmental controls. Some kind of weird human-looking attack bot!"

"Understood. Hold them off until reinforcements arrive," replied Doctor T.

"You won't have any reinforcements when I'm done with you," sneered the girl before she punched forward at range. Zuko had a moment to react as he bent backwards, falling on his rear as a fireball skimmed the top of his head. Scrambling backwards, Zuko ran from the numerous fireballs that blazed a brilliant blue color. Old memories of how heat got hotter at different spectrums came to mind and he dodged each blast.

"C'mon, fight me! If you're too CHICKEN-BAT to try!" taunted the girl.

Zuko rolled to his feet and tabbed the device. "My pleasure. A.D.S. Max Drive!" Without hesitation, he commanded, "Dragon Swords!" And twinned blades appeared in his hands.

Charging forward and parrying the blue fireballs, he slashed at the opponent who fought back with astounding speed and accuracy. Fireballs were parried, kicks were dodged. Zuko ducked a particularly vicious blow that would have possibly fused his helmet to his face and he ploughed into her stomach, driving her backwards like a linesman before shoving out and slashing across her chest.

The blows connected and the attack bot was hurled backwards but before impacting the cement, she sprung upwards and swung her hands forward, bathing the entire ground with the hottest flames she could muster. Zuko yelped and danced from the heat and took took to the air, leaping high above to land in front of her.

"You're sent by Azulon, aren't you?" growled Zuko as he pushed down on their arm lock.

"Yes I am. My master's quite interested in this place, in the way that someone would crush an ant under their heel." The girl inhaled and Zuko dodged out of the way as the air was lit up with a dragon-fire like breath attack. Rolling to his feet, he raised his hand and found it devoid of a sword.

"When did you…?!"

"Oh this little thing?" smirked Azula as she spun the weapon around before levelling it at him. "I thought I'd like a little souvenir."

Zuko growled angrily as he met the girl, sword to sword.

*

*

"ETA three and a half minutes," reported Katara.

"Careful Rangers, I'm picking up high discharges of fire in the area. No doubt it is a fire-based attack bot," said Doctor T.

Screeching to a halt, Sokka stared at the pair who were fighting. "Er, you sure about that doc? Cause it looks like to me that Zuko's picking a fight with a girl – and the girl's kicking his butt."

With a cry, Zuko went flying overhead and slammed into the hood of Sokka's truck, causing Aang and him to jump. "Nice of you to join the party," Zuko groaned as the pair got out of the truck and the Red Ranger rolled off the hood.

"Okay," said Katara, tossing her helmet to the side as the girl in front of them smirked, flames flickering in the background. "I don't know her, and I instinctively don't LIKE her."

"That goes double for me." Said Sokka. "A.D.S. MAX DRIVE!"

In an instant, the other three Rangers were in the fight as Sokka pulled out a large horn-shaped weapon. "MOOSE-LION HORN!" A brilliant discharge of power erupted as Sokka "blew" the end of it. The girl dodged the attack and Katara was there, bending the water in the air to wrap around her ankle.

"Too slow!" cried the girl as she sliced the water whip in half and came diving down for the group. Aang was in the center of it and he whipped his arms around. But rather than the gale force winds required for his airbending, there was a soft puff of air. "Uh oh…"

Swords clashed as Zuko held off the girl. "Aang, stop messing around!" roared Zuko as he forced the girl back. "Katara, Sokka, go!"

Katara nodded as she charged up an attack. Glowing blue, water spun rapidly into her hands as she threw her arms forward. "FREEZE GUSH!" The sphere left her hands and it froze the ground in front of her as it careened towards the fighting pair. Zuko leaped upwards and the girl sliced the attack in half. However as she did so, the water solidified instantly, trapping her in place. "Sokka!"

"Got it! MOOSE-LION HORN – BLADE MODE!" The horn flipped around into a curved weapon as he reared back. "BLADESTORM!" howled Sokka as the weapon was sent flying like a boomerang at the girl. There was a tremendous screeching of metal on metal as she was knocked onto her back.

"Time to end this," growled Zuko as he started to charge his own attack. "And I want my sword back too!"

"So possessive Zuzu," said the girl and Zuko froze. "What's the matter? Forgot this face?"

Zuko's sword clattered to the ground. "no way…" he whispered. "can't be…!"

"Zuko look out!" cried Aang as the girl hurled the weapon at him. Leaping in front of the stunned Ranger, Aang created a spinning blast of wind that knocked the girl and the sword away.

"Ugh…" groaned the girl as she staggered to her feet from the rough landing. "Enjoy it while you last. This world belongs to Azulon now." In a flash of light, she vanished.

"All right, we beat the badguy and saved the city," cheered Sokka.

"Zuko? You okay?" inquired Katara, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Zuko shrugged her hand off. "I want to be alone."

"But…"

"I SAID LEAVE!" At Zuko's thunderous yell, the Rangers shared a glance before heading back to their vehicles. Zuko kept staring at the place where the girl had vanished as the vehicles drove away. His sword dropped from numb fingers and he sunk to his knees.

"… after all this time… after all my searching… please Agni.. don't do this to me…"

*

*

In a darkened room, keys tapped at the keyboard rapidly, one hand switching to another. Working tirelessly, relentlessly, the illumination of a monitor was all the light the person needed.

And then, with a final click, she removed the device from her head. "This doesn't make any sense… that was not Ranger Yellow's special power. That was… something else."


	4. Chapter 4: Ranger Black

Ranger Black

*

*

"Sokka what did you do?"

The little boy looked up, a bit shamefaced as he clutched his broken spear, or rather his fathers broken spear. "I just wanted to go out hunting, you know, for food. Was really hungry and Gran-Gran said that dinner needed some meat and…!"

Hakoda chuckled as he knelt down next to his son and mussed the little patch of hair he had growing. "Son. In time you'll learn to hunt, catch fish, and provide for the family. But for now, you must stay here, inside the walls of our town. Remember it's dangerous out there, even for kids."

Sokka nodded. "Can you teach me how to hunt tomorrow?"

Hakoda smiled. "Tomorrow then."

Tomorrow never came. Like a swarm of locusts, Azulon forces descended upon our town. They had discovered the location of it, even though we were sure we managed to avoid detection. Dad got us to Ba Sing Se, but even then, we were alone.

"I'm going now son," said Hakoda. "Take care of your sister and Gran Gran, all right?"

"But I want to go with you!" protested the boy. "I'm almost a man now!"

"Sometimes the duty of a man needs to realize where the true value of your actions lay. Buck up. When we get back, we'll undertake the ritual to make you a full true man among men."

That day never came. It's been six years since he left. And now… I find myself an adult, defending Ba Sing Se from Azulon forces. Not as a man, or a warrior, but a Power Ranger.

God I hate Mondays.

*

*

"What does that do?"

"Connects the fuel cells," said Sokka.

"And that?"

"Regulates power conversion."

"And this?"

"That's a wrench Aang you know that."

"I know; I just wanted to keep you on your toes." Aang grinned and Sokka rolled his eyes before grabbing his soda off the table. "How can you drink that stuff anyhow? It makes me hyper."

"It's pretty much sugar and bubbly water of course it's going to make you hyper Aang," replied Sokka as he picked up the soldering tool and lowered his googles. "Don't breathe the fumes, they're bad for you."

Aang backed away as Sokka set to work fusing the circuit board together. "So what's this going to make when it's done?" inquired Aang curiously.

"With any luck, a new device for us," said Sokka. "Just need to tie it into Doctor T's systems and we'd be ready to go."

"Cool! When will it be finished?"

"At the going rate? I really have NO idea," replied Sokka. "I'm still working out the bugs and there's a lot of scientific testing to do…"

"Bugs? How can bugs get into the machine?" inquired Aang.

Sokka lifted his goggles. "Not real bugs, but bugs. Computer problems or errors. It's a general term for something that isn't working right."

"Oh. Can't you just say it's not working right?" inquired Aang.

Sokka discovered that the work table was very, VERY hard.

*

*

"I don't get it," said Sokka as he and Aang went out for lunch that day. "You don't remember a thing but you remember certain things. Like how you really don't like meat, which is totally bizarre, and how to control a Flying Bison."

"Doesn't seem too bizarre to me," replied Aang who feasted on a newly cooked veggie burger from King of the Grill. "And I guess I just know things. The doctor says I'm getting better at it but sometimes I wonder just what I'm doing out there."

Sokka shrugged, bit into his hamburger with its four patties and extra bacon, and added thickly, "Maybe you're repressing them yourself. Like you have this great and huge destiny before you and you're running away cause the pressure is too great that you need to freeze yourself in an iceberg for like 100 years!"

Aang blinked. And then he laughed. "Aw c'mon Sokka, that sounds like a plot from one of those TV shows you made me watch."

Sokka laughed, coughed, and swallowed some pop. "Yeah, it is kinda wild ain't it? It would make a great plot though for a television series. Or a movie! Yeaaaah a movie. Like three of them!"

"Wouldn't three be, what's the word… overkill?" inquired Aang.

"Naw, not really. Good things always come in threes. You get the great beginning which hooks everyone into the drama. And then you have the build up and urgency of the second one which always ends badly! And then the triumphant third finale in which the cast members all resolve their issues and beat the badguy no matter the cost! THAT is great cinema. Or television." Sokka nodded knowingly and Aang sipped his soda with a loud SLUCK.

The debate on programming was suddenly ground to a halt as Sokka and Aang's devices beeped. "Rangers," said Doctor T without preamble, "there's an attack bot headed towards Sector 17. Series Yellow and Black head to intercept. Series Red and Blue will follow shortly."

"Why does it seem that we're always on the opposite side of the city when attacks happen?" wondered Sokka as the pair dropped coins on the table for the waitress and bolted out the door, not waiting for change.

*

*

"I don't see anything," said Aang as he and Sokka crept into the facility. "No grinders, no crazy Zuko's sister…"

"Yeaaah I'm not too sure how that part works out either," stated Sokka. "Look around. There might be something they're looking for."

Spreading out, the pair wandered through the exotic animals' menagerie. Most of them looked tense from the presence of a dangerous foe but Aang made a shushing motion to a few of the more rowdy ones.

Creeping up to the bird area, Aang rounded the corner and nearly into Sokka. "Whoa, sorry," he said.

"It's okay, I haven't found anything myself," said Sokka. Keying in his morpher he called in Doctor T. "Doc, Aang and I are here and we don't see a thing."

"Keep searching. My sensors tell me its cloaked somehow."

"Somehow how?" inquired Sokka incredulously.

"Hey Sokka, look at these birds!" called out Aang.

Sokka looked up and he paled in his helmet. The biggest damn buzzard-wasp was perched there and its eyes glinted with an unholy malevolence. "Aang those aren't normal birds, those are ENEMY BIRDS!"

With a sound like unholy buzzing mixed in with cawing, the designated Enemy Bird swooped down, revealing its true form as an Azulon attack bot. The pair hit the dirt as it swooped over and circled back. "It's coming back!" yelled Aang.

"Thank you Mr. Obvious!" shot back Sokka, summoning his Moose-Lion Horn. "BLADESTORM!"

The giant boomerang snapped out and crashed against the Buzzard-Wasp's head and the giant machine squealed from the impact. "Got it!" proclaimed Sokka. Then, the machine shook off the damage and he proclaimed, "Whu-oh."

A second later, Aang watched as Sokka was carried off screaming by the giant Buzzard-Wasp. "Uh…."

"Series Yellow report! I'm picking up wild fluxuations in Series Black's vital signs. Can you verify?"

"If you mean he was carried off by a giant buzzard-wasp, then would that qualify?"

Silence. And then a low growl came across the comm.. "Go. After. Him. NOW! I'm downmorphing your zord, just GO!"

"Oh right."

A moment later, the titanic shape of "Appa" crashed through the domed habitat after Sokka. "Hey Doctor T? The place we summoned the zord in just was broken so…"

Aang winced and immediately shut his comm off at the blistering row of swear words coming from the synthesized voice.

"Okay, don't panic Sokka. Just remember the teachings of your dad Hakoda, the most brilliant Water Tribe fighter. The man who you trained under all your life."

Sokka thought hard.

And harder.

And even harder.

And then he thrashed wildly in the grip. "LEMME GO YOU STUPID FLYING PIECE OF NON-EDIBLE MEAT!"

"Hey Sokka!" cried Aang as he floated up next to Sokka standing atop "Appa". "Need help?"

"Oh no Aang I like it here. The nice view and terminal impact areas from about 10,000 feet…" replied Sokka.

Aang wore a puzzled look under his helmet. "Well if you really don't need help…!" But was cut off by Sokka's bellow of "GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

Aang nodded, leaped back into the cockpit and swivelled Appa around on his belly. "Hold still Sokka," said Aang as cannons popped out of the underbelly.

Sokka paled at the piles of guns aimed at him and wiggled more. "I said hold still!" exclaimed Aang as he loosed a barrage right into the Buzzard-Wasp's underbelly. The attack bot screeched and dropped Sokka who fell screaming into the underbelly of the mech.

"Huh," remarked Sokka as he felt around Appa's underside. "Man, your zord is all plush Aang—LOOK OUT!"

The Buzzard-Wasp swooped down on the pair and Aang cried, "Hold on!" as he put Appa into a barrel roll. Sokka hung on for dear life, clutching to a still-extended cannon on the underside as they plummeted to the ground, trying to shake the attacker.

"Still with me Sokka?" called out Aang as Sokka tried to get a hold of his bearings.

"Y-yeah! Just don't do another barrel roll," exclaimed Sokka. "Or I'm gonna get sick in my helmet!"

"What? Can't hear you over the wind!" Lasers blasted past the zord and Aang proclaimed, "I need to barrel roll! Hold on!"

"No wait--!" Sokka had no time to react as he clung for dear life. He turned three shades of green and croaked "Standby!" In a flash of light, his helmet vanished.

"Series Yellow, Ranger Black has depowered to standby, can you confirm?" asked Doctor T.

"Um… Sokka?"

"HURK-ULP!"

"I'm going to call that as a yes, Doctor T."

"MY CABBAGES!"

Aang winced. "Um… talk to you later!" Punching the comm system off, he pulled Appa into a steep climb. "Sokka?"

Sokka, in the meantime, had managed to get his stomach under control. "B-Back to action!" he croaked and his helmet appeared. "I'm fine Aang! Somewhat."

Lasers flashed by them and Sokka winced. "Aang I've got a plan! But you need to get him closer to the ground!"

"All right!" exclaimed Aang as he swooped Appa downwards.

Thumbing his helmet comm., Sokka yelled over the wind, "Doctor T? I need my zord!"

"You're over 5000 feet in the air," replied Doctor T. "what good will that do?"

"Just send it over!"

A sigh. And then Doctor T said, "Downmorphing Zord."

Switching comms, he keyed in Aang's frequency. "Steep dive now!"

"Got it!" The pair went into a steep dive and the Buzzard-Wasp followed rapidly. Then, at about 600 feet, Sokka let go. "Downmorphing Moose-Lion!"

In a burst of light, the Moose-Lion Zord sized up and Sokka landed with a splat. Appa pulled up at the last second. The Buzzard-Wasp didn't and it was impaled on one of the long horns of the zord. "YES!" proclaimed Sokka and in response, his stomach protested.

"You did it!" proclaimed Aang jovially over the comm., but Sokka was busy losing his lunch again."

"Really, did you have to do such a stupid thing like that?" said Katara as her brother lay on the couch, nursing his sore stomach with medication.

"Totally… urp… worth it," groaned Sokka.

"You are the bravest guy I've met. Or maybe the dumbest. Can't tell," remarked Zuko. "How'd you figure that it would impact like that?"

Sokka smiled faintly. "Dad taught me."

Katara looked at the others who shrugged.

*

*

"See the animal Sokka? I want to show you a trick."

Hakoda pointed at the Penguin-Otter. "We eat them for meat, remember?" Little Sokka nodded. "Watch this."

He picked up a snowball and flung it at the animal. It struck the animal and Hakoda threw up his arms going "VICTORY SCREECH!" and letting out a undulating warble. The animal, predictably got mad and charged. But due to the angle and the speed, Hakoda simply pointed his spear and in a thunk of meat on spear, the man grinned, hefting the dead animal. "See? Easy. Don't even have to lift a finger. Remember Sokka, sometimes the easiest kills are the simplest, even against the most deadliest of foes."

You taught me a lot of things dad. And somehow, even the silliest of things make a difference.


	5. Chapter 5: Ranger Blue

Ranger Blue

*

*

"How's it look?"

Katara read the document over and made a few corrections. "There we go. You wrote the character for "food" wrong."

"Oh that's why it looked so weird," remarked Aang. "Thanks Katara."

"No problem. Are you still going to be working on your reading and writing comprehension?" she inquired.

Aang nodded, an expression of annoyance on his face. "Yeah, Doctor T wants me to master the written language by this weekend. And when the doc says this weekend it's pretty much a guarantee that if I don't pass, I'll get Fridge Cannoned."

"NOT THE MUFFIN MAN!" cried out Sokka in his sleep and dropped back asleep.

The pair looked at him oddly, or rather Aang did. Katara grinned. "He has Fridge Cannon nightmares."

"SPARE THE GUMDROP BUTTON!"

*

*

Katara rarely came to the upper side of the city, but she was on a mission from Doctor T. Specifically, for whatever reason, the reclusive doctor required a piece of machinery that he, or she, couldn't get themselves and it was up to Katara to visit the manufacturing area.

"Ranger Series Blue," said Katara, flashing her morpher at the guards of the research facility. "I'm here on orders from Doctor T."

The guards let her in and Katara stepped into the facility. Bright and clean and well lit, scientists bustled across her path as she wove her way towards a central area. There, a young man dressed a labcoat was arguing with a man older than himself.

"No, I don't believe it'll work if you change the parameters on the device," argued the young man before Katara cleared her throat. His expression lit up and he grinned. "Katara, hello!"

"Hello Haru, you're looking well," greeted Katara. "Nice moustache and beard. Is it new?"

Haru chuckled as he rubbed the thin hair on his face. "You will not BELIEVE the fuss my companions put up when I come to work with this. They say it makes me look like a responsible adult." He finished in a stage-whisper, earning glares from his older companions.

Katara giggled. "I'll bet. Is the package for Doctor T ready?"

"As ready as it'll ever be," said Haru, picking up a device. "We increased the power of the energy module so there'll be no problems with the new zord configurations."

As Katara wrapped up the device, Haru added, "You um, wanna go out sometime? I mean, just as professionals and all. I've got things to ask about the Ranger stuff and…"

"Oh um," blushed Katara, but any answer she could give was cut off by her morpher beeping. "Oh, sorry. I gotta take the call."

Haru nodded, a little dejected but he waved as Katara ran out the door, popping the morpher open. "Yes?"

"Hey Katara, it's Sokka. Can you pick up some chips? We're all out of chip and got lots of dip."

Annoyed, she hung up.

*

*

Pulling up at a light, Katara sighed as she waited for it to turn green. With the bundle safely under her arm, she was ready to just go home and hand it over to Doctor T.

Just then, an ad caught her eye. Peering at the billboard, she read, "Genuine North Pole Waterbending Lessons, 100 coin an hour."

The honk of the horn startled her and she peeled out towards the lower section of town.

After pulling into the drive and handing off the device to Doctor T's awaiting hole in the wall, Katara plopped down at her laptop and typed in a few words. A small rudimentary local internet had been developed for announcements and news, and she quickly found the address.

"It's close to here," mused Katara.

Writing down the address, she grabbed her helmet. "Hey guys, I'm headed out for a bit."

"All right," said Sokka, engrossed in his latest television show. "Bring chips next time!"

Katara rolled her eyes at her brother and pushed her motorcycle out into the driveway. Starting it and revving the engine, she zoomed off, following the directions.

Soon, after a few wrong turns, Katara came to a small area of the city. Kids of all ages played in the streets and many of the women and children there as well as much of the menfolk wore various types of blue. "Huh, should have realized that the dojo was in the waterbender's part of town."

Even with the migration of people to Ba Sing Se, the town was primarily divided into three different areas. A large place near the waterfront for the Waterbenders and their way of lifestyle was known as Water Town. Fire Town, where all the Fire Nation refugees ended up was in fact near the industrial area, something that seemed to please the people there greatly due to the access of metal and forges. And of course the wealthy elite of Ba Sing Se's Earth Kingdom lived atop, with its poor lower class in the middle to bottom areas.

As she pushed her cycle through the streets, a young child walked up to her and asked, "Miss? Can you spare a coin or three?"

"Of course I can," said Katara, reaching into her purse and pulling out a few coins, handing it to the girl. "Don't spend it all in one place, okay?"

"Okay," said the girl, pocketing it. "You're nice. Only a few people from the top levels come down here. You're nice like Gran Gran."

Katara blinked. "Gran Gran?"

"Uh huh!" said the girl. "She's here right now, treating the sick. Want to meet her?"

"Sure, I'd like that."

Following the girl to a small clinic, she pushed the door open after parking the cycle. "Hello?"

"Leave your shoes at the front desk dear," called an elderly voice from the rear, and soon the owner walked out. "Now then what can… oh my! Katara dear!"

"Gran Gran!" proclaimed Katara as she was engulfed in the biggest hug her grandmother could give. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at the townhouse dad found us!"

"Oh pish I still live there, but every day I come to the Water Town in order to ply my trade," said the elderly woman with a smile on her face. "Someone has to pass on the medicine of our people, and since YOU are running around fighting monsters in revealing spandex…"

"It's not spandex," said Katara, blushing hard. "It's a…"

"I don't really give a care what it is, but I'm glad it protects you," cut off Kanna, smiling. "Sit down, have some tea for a bit."

After setting out some tea, Kanna offered a cup to her granddaughter who took the rough hewn mug. "Hand made," said Kanna. "None of that manufactured stuff anymore. I gave it all away to the families here."

"It's like a slum," remarked Katara and Kanna nodded. "Hasn't the Earth King given more funding?"

"They're always rerouting the funds to the immigrants, claiming that the natural structures of Ba Sing Se are more important. Cultural heritage pah. It's one of those things that people are eternally stubborn about." Kanna shrugged as she added, "So tell me Katara, how are your new companions working out?"

"They're doing all right. Zuko's taken to the Series Red a lot better than we'd hoped and he's started to work with the biofields powers to Firebend."

"You know in my day, we didn't need these fancy suits to bend," said Kanna over her cup. "But the techniques of the benders have long since passed into antiquity."

"That's why I came here," said Katara. "I saw this billboard for this school of waterbending that opened up here in this part of town."

Startled, Kanna fumbled her teacup. "Did you now?"

"Yes, and I was hoping to look into it, see some of our heritage in action." Added Katara. "Maybe learn some bending of my own?"

"Bending you are born with, not learned. However, the skill you have with your Ranger bending might come in handy." Kanna pointed down the road through the window. "Take a left at the next light Katara. You'll find it. It's the newest building on the block."

"Thank you Gran Gran," said Katara. "I got to go now, before Doctor T calls me with another attack on our hands."

"Oh, by the way Katara, I want you to have something of mine." Getting up, Kanna made her way behind the counter and pulled out a small box. "I wanted to give you this when you became a lady, but I think that time has already come. Open it up."

Opening it, Katara gasped. It was a pendant attached to a simple navy blue cloth. "It's beautiful," said Katara as she held it up to the light. "Hand carved?"

"Yes it was, by a dear friend of mine," said Kanna. "Wear it for me will you?"

Katara put the necklace on and gazed at herself in the mirror behind the counter. Kanna smiled. "You look wonderful in it."

:Katara hugged her grandmother. "I'll wear this always," said Katara, smiling widely.

"Thank you for that. Now go, before you're called out on another monster attack," said Kanna, nudging her towards the door.

*

*

"This is it," said Katara, looking up at the sign. The sounds of men or boys in drills could be heard from behind the walls and she pushed the door open. The front read "Northern Water Tribe Waterbending School." And curiously to the side read a small sign with the words "To challenge in ritual combat, please use side door."

Stepping into the open courtyard, she nearly slipped if it weren't for the long memories of walking easily on ice coming back to her. A group of boys were undergoing drills with a tall, stern looking man walking up and down the ranks. "Again!" he barked and the boys continued to perform.

"Excuse me?" called out Katara but the man ignored her. "Excuse me! I'd like to inquire about this dojo? Anyone?"

Some of the boys did stop to look at her and one of the boys younger than she was said, "You're a girl."

"Uh, duh," said Katara. "Why?"

"Master Pakku doesn't train girls," said another boy. "They're only to learn the healing techniques."

"Well that's a bit of a load," grumbled Katara. "Why is that?"

"Tradition," said the first boy. "He said it's a tradition from back when he was young."

"Students!" called out the stern looking man, "Return to your drills. I will see to our guest."

Striding up to Katara, he fixed her with a look. "I am sorry but I will not teach women the Waterbending techniques of the Northern Tribe. Please leave."

"Hey wait a sec. In this day and age, there's a little thing called equality you know," protested Katara as he tried to push her out of the dojo. "And I was just curious about a few techniques to refine my own!"

The man paused and stopped pushing her, allowing her to smooth her jacket down. "Are you a Waterbender?" he asked.

"Yes! Well, kinda. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe though, and I sort of do bending." Admitted Katara.

"Sort of is not a good answer, neither is kinda. You either bend or you do not. And I will not teach women," said the man.

"But wait…!"

SLAM

Katara let out a frustrated growl. "OOOGH he's going to get it the next time I'm…!"

Her morpher beeped, cutting her tirade off. Snapping it up, she demanded, "What?"

"Glad you can join us Series Blue," drawled the distorted synthed voice of Doctor T. "We have a shield breach, Sector 10."

"That's one district away. On my way." Sighing, she pulled her engine cell from her necklace. "A Ranger's work is never done. A.D.S.! MAX DRIVE!"

In a flash of light, she transformed into her armour and grabbed her motorcycle. Before she could zoom off however, a tug on her leg made her pause. The same little girl who asked for a few coins looked up at her. "Aren't you cold in that?" she asked curiously.

Katara shook her head. "Nope, not cold. Can you um, please let go? I have a monster to fight."

"Okay."

As Katara tore off and the people made room for her hasty exit, the stern looking man gazed on, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Sorry I'm late," exclaimed Katara as she leaped off her cycle. "What'd I miss?"

"Oh nothing much. Grinders. Azula. Attack Bot." Zuko hefted his swords. "You want to put the damn thing together or what?"

"Oh! Right. Spaced for a second."

"Engine cell locked and loaded," exclaimed Aang, shoving the device into the back of the weapon. "FIRE!"

The attack bot, which for all intents and purposes looked like a the lovechild of a blender and a toaster oven, exploded into a million pieces as Azula sighed. "Don't you get TIRED of doing that knowing THIS will happen?"

This was obviously referring to the fact that seconds later, it grew thirty stories high. Sokka grunted and retorted, "Maybe it's just the highlight of our afternoon. You know, we get up, brush our teeth, blow up a monster, call the zords—OW!"

"Downmorphing Zords," commanded Katara after whapping her brother on the head.

As Azula took her leave, Katara's mind was far away until Zuko's irritated voice cut in. "Katara! LINK UP! DO IT NOW!"

"ACK!" proclaimed Katara, switching into Megazord Configuration Mode.

In record time, the monster, who quite incidentally had been in the process of trying to make the Earth Kingdom Bank into a slice of toast for some ungodly reason, was blown to bits and the zords were recalled. "You know on a scale of one to ten, that ranked a 2 for performance," said Sokka as he demorphed.

"Sorry guys, I just had a lot of things on my mind," admitted Katara, demorphing as well.

"Anything we need to worry about?" inquired Aang curiously.

Katara shook her head. "No, nothing that bad. Oh, Sokka, Gran Gran's at the Water Town clinic if you want to see her."

"All right, I'll check it out later. Was that where you were?" Inquired Sokka.

"Yeah it was. Ran into her by accident too. She gave me this as well." Touching the necklace, the boys peered at it.

"It's… pretty?" offered Zuko.

"Yeah, it's really nice!" added Aang.

"Hey wait, wasn't that in Gran Gran's box? The one that she hit me for opening years ago?" finished Sokka, bringing the conversation to a screeching halt. Katara facepalmed and hit her brother.

*

*

"Series Blue, where are you going at this hour?" inquired Doctor T.

Katara froze, halfway out the door. "Uh… shopping?"

"Unlikely. The nature of your leavetaking and the stealth that you are employing means that you are unwilling to let anyone know about the nature of your mission. Can I assume it has something to do with a personal matter?"

"Yeah," stammered Katara. Damnit how did Doctor T even know she was planning this? Katara quietly hoped the doctor wasn't psychic.

"I see. Far be it from me to deny you any pursuits in the future. Have a good date."

Katara's brain froze function. But before she could say anything, the door shut behind her. "It is NOT a date!" proclaimed Katara, finally regaining her mind back.

In a huff, she marched down the stairs and headed towards Water Town. Even at the hour of the night, it was still lively. The people of the Water Tribe were, by far the most nocturnal people she knew of, and managed to stay open into the wee hours of the night. It was here that Katara found a few kids from the dojo, bending the water upwards in practice. "That looks like fun," said Katara and the kids looked at her. "Can I try?"

"Dunno," said one of the boys. "Master Pakku says girls can't bend."

"Master Pakku is also living in the stone age," grumbled Katara. "Can you at least show me the basics? I'll try once and if it doesn't work…"

The two boys looked at each other and then, one of them nodded. "Okay. Follow my steps."

Waterbending, Katara discovered quickly, was actually familiar, or at least the motions. As a Ranger, she was required to memorize the motions needed to use the Bender capabilities of the biohardware provided to her, and incorporate it into the fighting styles.

"You're really good at it," said the first boy. "But you're not moving the water."

"Yeah," said the second. "You're just doing the motions. No bending at all."

Katara let out a frustrated sigh and blew a gust of air through an upturned lip. "Maybe I need to focus on something…"

Gazing at her reflection in the water, she held out her hands. One hand pulled up, the other moved to the side. Gentle motions, like the push and pull of the tide.

Slowly, Katara moved and then, something happened. The water began to bubble, and a small tendril of liquid pulled its way upwards. The boys looked on in surprise as she twisted the water around her hads. "Wooooooah," said the first boy. "You can waterbend!"

"I can," said Katara, completely shocked as she lost cohesion of the water and it splashed, soaking her shoes. "I… I didn't know I could. I was just interested and…"

"And you will forget all of that now," said the owner of the stern voice. The boys paled as the dojo master walked into the light. "Go home boys. This is not your place."

"Bye lady!" The kids bolted as the man scowled at her.

"I told you I will not train women, nor let the secrets of our style be taught to them," said the man.

"Hey, I just wanted to try it out," said Katara defensively. "And who are you anyhow?"

"I am Master Pakku, formerly of the Water Tribe of the Northern Pole. I hold the traditions of our people and I will not allow you to use them. That false bending you do is no match for the real deal." Said Pakku.

"Hey, Doctor T put his or her heart and soul into this technology to SAVE US ALL. I won't have you mocking it!" argued Katara.

"You're a stubborn girl. Are you saying that this so-called technology will save us all? Against a formidable foe like the Azulon forces? Only real bending will show everything we need to know." Pakku glared at her.

Katara glared right back. "Fine. I'm gonna challenge you. Right here, right now. If I win, you'll admit that Doctor T's technology is as good as real Waterbending."

"And I win, you will never darken my door again," said Pakku. "Follow me. I know a place where we can have our match."

*

*

Sokka yawned, scratching himself as he bent over to get something out of the fridge. "I didn't need to see that," said Doctor T, startling Sokka and making him whap his head on the top.

"You have some really bad habits you know that?" groused Sokka, massaging his head.

"So says the Ranger who is wearing little badger-mole boxers to bed." Countered Doctor T.

Sokka made a vain motion to cover himself up as Doctor T added, "Oh and Katara went out tonight."

"Big deal, she's had dates before," said Sokka, lifting the milk jug to drink from it. Then he paused. "Wait, it IS a date right?"

"No it is not, and currently her Ranger Suit has been activated. I believe she is in combat. Oh, and please put the milk down – I hate backwash."

Sokka nearly dropped the milk, capped it hastily and shoved it into the fridge. "Aang, Zuko wake up! We've got a situation!"

Minutes later, Sokka's truck had peeled out and Doctor T remarked to thin air "Was it something I said?"

*

*

"We fight until one of us are incapacitated," said Pakku with his hands behind his back. "Fair?"

Katara nodded, already suited up. "Ready when you are."

"Then let us begin." Pakku swept into a low stance, thrusting his hand out as a blast of water erupted from the lake. Katara countered it, spinning the liquid around her before she froze the ground beneath them and heaved upwards gracefully. Ice formed and tried to shove Pakku upward.

The master flipped up and over gracefully, bending it into a slide for him to rush down at Katara who was caught by his next attack – a motion that hurled her into the air.

As Pakku slid towards her, she bent the water out of the air and came into meet him. Water and ice flew everywhere and the pair parted, landing in opposite sides. Twinned spires of ice formed out and engulfed a tree where Pakku was standing, and Katara smashed through the one aimed for her.

"Reckless, irresponsible, wasteful," said Pakku, punctuating his statements with a show of his mastery over water. "Every time you bend you waste more and more energy. Bending is graceful, not this brutish combination of aggression!"

"Takes one to know one," shot back Katara, backflipping from a few attacks and sending her own hurling at Pakku. "I've been out there fighting monsters and attack bots and who knows what else. Can't you just cut me some slack?"

"I cannot, for this is a duel of honour. And with that in the way…" Pakku swept his hands forward as a tsunami erupted, slamming into Katara who had no time to dodge. The force of the impact knocked her Ranger powers offline and she struggled from where the ice encased her.

"I win," said Pakku with a finality to his words. "You lose girl. I will no longer have you in my presence."

"Just tell me one thing," growled Katara, trying to get free. "Why are you so against it? Is it laws? Tribal dedication? Why the hell would you make it—"

Crack

"—so that you could turn potential—"

SNAP

"— away and be completely consumed with cross-tribal claptrap—"

CRUNCH

"—and that you would be so against helping someone—"

GRIND

"—that could really use a break for once?!"

With a resounding groan and crackle of ice, the entire thing broke apart and Katara collapsed to the ground, heaving. The ice had quickly turned to water and Pakku was staring at her like she had grown another head.

"How… did you…?"

"She has talent, as did I once," said Kanna, coming into the light. "Hello Pakku. It's been a while."

"K-Kanna!" exclaimed Pakku, disbelieving what he was seeing. "So she is… your…"

"HEY! WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO MY SISTER?!" yelled Ranger Black, delivering a flying kick to Pakku out of nowhere.

As Pakku collapsed like a ton of bricks, Kanna clucked her tongue. "Sokka, you're too impulsive," she snapped and the Black Ranger winced reflexively. "Come and help me get your sister and my old friend into someplace warm. And you two…" Aang and Zuko snapped to attention, "fetch me some tea. I'm getting too old for this."

*

*

"I see," said Pakku, holding an ice pack to where Sokka had kicked him in the head. "So she is your granddaughter, and this is your grandson. To think the protectors of this city for more than a year and a half have been yours Kanna."

"It's a shame you never noticed," said Kanna in reply as Aang and Sokka fussed over Katara's bruises. Zuko pretended not to care but was sneaking glances out of the corner of his eye. "The motions she used, the weapons the Black Ranger uses, not to mention the techniques."

"I see. Or rather I didn't," said Pakku. "I must apologize for this Kanna. I never thought…"

"That's right, you didn't think. Like your stubbornness with me so many years ago, you've been blinded by your own words." Kanna shook her head as she glanced over at Katara who was talking with Aang and Sokka. "They are special children, chosen to protect this world."

"I see. Again. What can I do to make it up to you Kanna?"

"Not to me, but to Katara. You may have won the battle, but her power is apparent. Like the women of our tribe, she can harm and heal. It is our way and our tradition. Teach her how to bend, and do it for the sake of protecting this world from such an unnatural force."

Pakku nodded. "Heh, in all my years I thought that the Avatar would be the one to save us. Instead, it's in the hands of these children, nay, young men and women."

*

*

After bidding goodnight to Pakku, the group set off towards the clinic. "I rest there now, so I don't have to make the trip on the train," said Kanna. "Come visit me when you have time dears."

"We will Gran Gran," said Katara. "We need to get going."

"Of course. Can't be tired when fighting monsters now can we?" Patting Katara fondly on the cheek, she added, "Keep that necklace safe."

"I will." Heading off, Sokka added, "I'll watch her."

"She watches you more than you watch her Sokka. Don't let yourself get too caught up in luxury." Warned Kanna. Sokka nodded and ducked out, Zuko following with a short bow, leaving Aang behind.

"Um, Kanna?"

"Call me Gran Gran," said Kanna. "Is there something I can answer Aang?"

"Yes actually. I overheard you two talking. What's the Avatar?"

"The Avatar is a powerful being of legend, a god in a mortal shell. Able to become the bridge of the spiritual world and the living world. It is said that from him, he embodies Water, Earth, Fire and Air. The people said that when times were difficult, the Avatar would step up and save us all."

"Oh I see. Thanks for the information. Good night."

Aang headed off towards the others but suddenly, a rush of images flew through his head as he stumbled. Holding his head, he tried to make sense of them.

Can'tbeitcan''twannagodon'!

"Aang?"

Aang looked up. "Are you okay?" said Katara.

Aang nodded as he stood up. "S-sorry. Had a dizzy spell."

"It is kinda late. Lets go home Aang." Said Katara, holding out a hand.

Aang nodded. "Yeah. Home."


	6. Chapter 6: Ranger Yellow Part 1

Ranger Yellow Part 1

*

*

"Aang, breakfast!" called out Katara. "Aang?"

Looking around, she peeked into Doctor T's command area and asked, "Doctor T? Have you seen Aang?"

"He left early this morning," replied Doctor T. "Said he had something to do at the library."

"Huh, okay. Well, I'll leave something for him provided Sokka and Zuko don't eat it all. Honestly, what's their obsession with waffles anyhow?" groused Katara.

As Katara left, Doctor T's screens blipped off as a small figure in the booth behind the screens leaned back in concern.

"Somethings up with that kid," mused Doctor T. "And I hate not knowing what's going on."

*

*

"Scrolls? They're in the back," said the librarian. "What are you looking for?"

"Stuff on the Avatar," replied Aang.

"Oh pssh, you want to know that? You can find it on the internet. Here, let me show you." Getting out from behind his desk, he grinned and said, "I'm Teo."

"Aang," replied Aang, shaking the librarians hand. "Oh I didn't know…"

"Don't worry," said Teo, patting his legs. "I don't even notice these days. C'mon, I'll show you what you need to know. First time using a computer?"

Aang nodded as Teo lead him to a computer. It was a little less advanced than the one he used at the garage in order to learn what he needed to know, but it still worked the same. "It was shocking to me when I first used it," explained Teo, logging in with an administrator password. "To think this sort of technology could be used here in Ba Sing Se after so many years of war."

"How many years has it been anyhow?" inquired Aang.

Teo looked at him curiously. "You really don't know? Azulon's attack robots have been marching across the world for a hundred years. Everyone knows that."

The mention of time made Aang's hackles rise for a reason yet unknown as Teo logged into the internet. "Got it. Here we go, a history of Avatars."

"The Avatar is the embodiment of the four elements, Water, Earth, Fire and Air. It is said that when one dies, a new one is born at the exact moment. Scientists believe this is through the cause of a higher power. Those who believe in the old ways cite that the Avatar will one day rise up and deal with the imbalance to the world."

"That's what most people say, the ones older than my dad," explained Teo. "They say that the Avatar can bend mountains, move rivers and heave fire from the depths of the earth, and pull the very air from your lips."

"But… it's a legend, right?" inquired Aang.

"No, it's real. Look, here's some accountings of past Avatars. Avatar Kiyoshi, the founder of Kiyoshi Island. To this day, that place is still said to be protected from Azulon incursions by a group of warriors who follow the avatar's path. She's fairly notable. But the one that came after her was Avatar Roku."

Rokurokurokurokurokurokuroku…!

Aang pinched the bridge of his nose as the name fired like a gunshot in his head. Teo hadn't noticed his discomfort and added, "Avatar Roku was a great man who pressed the advance in technology we use today. It's said he developed the first computer, and then the first defences for all of our worlds. But when he died, something strange happened. Without warning, our newfound methods of defence fell ill, one by one. We called it a computer virus who by then, took our world apart."

"He didn't mean to…" whispered Aang.

"Did you say something Aang?" inquired Teo.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Go on."

"Well here's the weird part. There hasn't been a mention of another Avatar since then. And with the Air Nomads either scattered or extinct…" Aang's breath caught in a hitch and Teo looked at him. "In fact, the clothing you're wearing now must have belonged to one, cause there's no way that thing was mass produced."

Aang nodded. "T-thanks Teo. By the way, can you um, tell me where I might find someone who was from the Air Nomads?"

"Hard to say," said Teo. "You could ask my dad but he's at his workshop. Dad's a bit of a mechanist. If you want, check the local records at the library. I hear they're reclusive but it'll be a start?"

Aang nodded. "Thanks, you've been a great help."

Heading out of the library, Aang pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stem the throbbing of his head. "I should get more sleep," he mused.

"Sorry. The only sleep you'll be getting is a long dirt nap," sneered Azula who had shown up with her pack of Grinders.

Aang groaned. "Look I've had a bad morning. Can we skip the witty banter and get right to the violence?"

"If you want. ATTACK!"

"A.D.S. MAX DRIVE!" in a blast of yellow light, Aang flew into his opponents, kicking, punching and dragging up wicked blasts of air to throw enemies about. Soon he was matching blows with Azula who wore a wicked grin on her face.

"I thought you were a pacifist," she smirked.

"Even pacifists have bad days," grunted Aang as he flipped her over and hurled her twenty feet away. The girl landed like a cat and Aang was on top of her with another series of blows.

"Glider Staff!" yelled Aang as the staff materialized in his hands seconds before Azula launched a barrage of flames. Popping it open, he flew upwards and prepared to come out of the sun in a swooping attack. Suddenly, a barrage of words and sounds struck him and he cried out, holding his head.

His grip lost, he plummeted to the ground like a rock and Azula lined up a blast. But before Aang could hit the ground, water cushioned his fall as Azula found her arm wrenched up by Zuko. "Missed me?" he quipped before the pair were locked in a heated brother-sister battle.

"Never Zuzu. Did you get that shiny new toy from daddy yet?" quipped Azula in which flames were traded.

"You okay?" said Katara as she lowered Aang to the ground. The boy groaned and sat up.

"Is it possible to have the worst day ever and it's still only 9:14?" he replied.

"Yes. Sokka does it all the time."

Between the extra Rangers and Zuko's unrelenting bursts of flames, Azula was forced to retreat in a flash of light. "You know I always wondered if we could teleport. It would make deployment so much easier," said Sokka.

*

*

"Ranger Series Yellow. While I am concerned for your well being and performance in the biohardware, I must confess I am concerned for your actions as well." Said Doctor T.

"Yeah, I mean you hate fighting. But then you just tore into Azula's goons," pointed out Sokka. "What gives?"

"I haven't been sleeping well for the last few days," admitted Aang. "Bad dreams. Really bad ones."

"The health and psychological welfare of the Ranger Operators cannot become an issue," said Doctor T. "I am relieving you of your morpher until you manage to pull yourself together."

"Hey that's not fair! We need him on the battlefield," protested Katara.

"And without his morpher, he becomes a big glaring target. What's he going to do; stay in the garage all day?" added Zuko.

"That is precisely what I desire," said Doctor T. "As your advisor, I am ordering Series Yellow to rest up, and stabilize his mental state before he proceeds with deployment once again."

Aang nodded and pulled the cell phone-like device from his hip. "Just for a while," he said, placing the device into its compartment which shut with a click.

In the uncomfortable silence, Sokka proclaimed, "Who wants tacos? I need a fish taco."

"Go and order for us Sokka," said Zuko. "In fact, lemme come with you. You always forget Aang doesn't eat meat."

As the pair bickered over tacos, Katara sat down beside Aang. "Anything you want to get off your chest?" she asked.

"Not really." Aang wilted under her stare and he sighed. "I keep having these weird dreams. People and faces I can't make out. Sometimes it starts all right, like I'm flying in the air or something. And then there's a storm, a violent one. Then it always ends with needles and pain and I wake up."

Katara frowned. "Doctor T?"

"The needles and pain are consistent with possible suppressed memories of his imprisonment. I would not put it past Azulon to torture humans who he has captured," said the screen.

"All right, so we know what that is. But question is, where do you remember the good part of the dream?"

"I…" Aang tried to think and he tapped his head. "I just… augh!" Mussing his short black hair, he looked at himself in the mirror. "This is all wrong."

"What is?"

"My appearance," said Aang. "I keep thinking something needs to be missing from my reflection."

"Series Yellow, I have a suggestion for you. If you go to the address I am printing for you now, you will meet with an old fortuneteller. While you may or may not believe in it, there is a point: she is NEVER wrong. Also, she is a licensed therapist of the mind. A psychologist."

Aang took the printout and looked at the writing on it. "Aunt Wu's House of Fortunes?"

"Aunt Wu? I've always wanted to go see her myself!" proclaimed Katara. "But the waiting list is miles long!"

"Is she really that good?" inquired Aang.

"She has NEVER been wrong before," said Katara. "Even when she lived in her small town near the coast of the Earth Kingdom, her fame was legendary."

"Back! And I ordered fish tacos!" proclaimed Sokka, interrupting the discussion. "Back off get your own taco!" he added as Zuko snagged one out of the bag.

Zuko smirked as he said, "I'm like a ninja. You don't see the taco being stolen."

*

*

"Well this is it; Aunt Wu's House of Fortune." Said Katara as they pulled up to the building.

"That's some line," said Aang as he gazed down the street, watching the line wrap around the building. "How are we going to get to see her?"

"Bar Grinder attack…" Katara waited and then her expression fell as no Grinders showed up to spoil the day. "Nurtz. Was hoping that'd work."

Shrugging, Aang walked up to the nearest man. "Excuse me sir, my friend and I need to see Aunt Wu. Can we just cut in front of—"

"Look kid," said the man, cutting him off, "I've been waiting in line for the last three weeks. No way you're going to get cuts."

"Ooooo-kaaaay." Moving up the line, Aang tried again. "Sir if you…"

"Leave me to my pain." Droned the man. Aang wisely backed off.

"Excuse me ma'am? This is official Ranger Business, can we slot in front of you please?" inquired Katara of a morbidly obese woman.

"Heaven's NO," said the woman. "I have been worried sick about poopsie, and I want to make sure she's all right." The rabbit-dog in her purse gave a weak cough.

"Psst," hissed a man, waving them over. The pair walked up and he said, "You wants to see Aunt Wu?"

"We do, can you get us inside?" inquired Aang.

"Oh yeah, yeah, I gotcha covered. Take a look at dese babies!" And the man threw open his jacket.

Katara averted her eyes in horror and Aang stared. "Does that come in instalments? It kinda looks big."

"WE'!" Katara hustled Aang away who added, "But doesn't that look like it's pump action?"

*

*

"Series Yellow and Series Blue? What have you two been doing all day?" inquired Doctor T.

"We have been TRYING to get in to see Aunt Wu," snapped Katara over the communicator. "So far we've been brushed off by smelly guys who've been in line for 3 weeks, encountered fat women who're trying to get advice for a nearly terminally sick rabbit-dog—"

"Don't forget about the guy with that neat piece and the jacket," said Aang and Katara made a full body shudder.

"Can't you pull some strings or SOMETHING?" pleaded Katara. "Five more hours of this and I'm going to go INSANE. And not in the good way. In the way that results in Series Blue getting her morpher taken away!"

"Calm down Series Blue. First of all, I've been working on the situation but due to her popularity, it is difficult. Bar a Grinder attack… hold please." Muzak filled the line and Katara let out a barely controlled scream of rage as she stomped around, trying not to go nuts. Quickly, the line resumed and Doctor T added "Sorry. There was a deployment needed in Sector 2. Sokka and Zuko are on the way there already. It's a simple platoon of Grinders."

"Just… please… help me. Before I go nuts…"

"I am working on it. Give me time and I'll figure this out. Doctor T out."

"No. NO! No—aw…!" Katara bit off an angry tirade as she slumped down next to Aang who was sitting on the curb. "How do I even keep this team together?"

"Practice?" Said Aang. He wilted reflexively as Katara glared at him. "Don't hurt me," he squeaked.

"Excuse me you two, but are you here to see Aunt Wu?" inquired an elderly woman dressed in a simple shirt and pants. She was holding a plastic bag from the corner store.

"Yes, and if you're selling something weird just please go away," said Katara, her voice muffled from her face being buried in her hands.

"Oh I'm not selling dear. However, a runaway Cabbage Cart is due to arrive any second, and will scatter the people. Then you can enter." Soothed the woman.

"A runaway what?" echoed Aang.

"MY CABBAGES!" cried a familiar vendor as a cart came careening over the hill, scattering people everywhere. Many of them muttered and soon the crowd dispersed as said cabbage vendor chased after his cart.

"See? Like clockwork. He should learn to get a ostrich-horse. Come children, Aunt Wu awaits."

Dumbstruck, the pair followed the woman into the building where she closed the door behind them. Inside the building was similar to one of the old-style homes one would find in the Earth Kingdom, despite the modern exterior. "Like it?" said the woman who lit a fire in the middle of the room in a small depression. "I had it rebuilt just the way I like it."

Katara stared for a long moment and then her mouth finally worked. "You're Aunt Wu aren't you?" she exclaimed.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," chuckled the woman who was now identified as Wu. "Sit down for a spell and let my predictions help you in life."

"Wow," said Aang as she served up tea. "Even the preparation is like from the old days."

"I've never been much for the convenience of modern technology," explained Wu. "And it never gets cold enough here to really have one of those new homes built even though I can afford one ten times over. However, I do love my soaps so I do have electricity."

"And a big screen tv?" inquired Katara, eyeing the black screen that was peeking out behind a set of sliding doors.

Wu smiled. "They look so much better when the telly is large. Now then, I hear from a old friend of mine that you are in need of guidance young man. Care to explain the situation?"

Aang nodded and told her about the dreams, about the flying and the storms and the needles. After he was done, she tapped her chin thoughtfully. Reaching into a pouch, she withdrew a few bones. "Cracking the bones and reading fortune from it has been the key to—dear you need to get that."

Katara winced as she picked up the phone. "Sorry," she whispered before turning to her conversation. "Yes?"

"Zuko and Sokka are in over their heads. They need a megazord configuration."

"Of course," groaned Katara. "Just when it was getting good." Holding her hand over, she opened her mouth to explain but Wu held up a hand.

"Go ahead and put that giant robot of yours together." Said Wu moments before the Giant Robot Battle Siren wailed. "Go go, shoo!"

Stammering a thank you, Katara rushed out and then poked her head back in. "Aang, let me know how it goes." And without getting a reply, yelled "A.D.S. MAX DRIVE!"

"Now then, where were we? Oh yes; your fortune." Holding up the bones, she said, "Casting the bones has been a tradition. Lets see what your future holds."

Throwing it into the fire, the bones sat there, slowly singing. Suddenly, it started to crack loudly as it erupted into a pillar of smoke and fire before exploding. Wu jumped as with Aang as the fragments catapulted itself and fell into a pattern.

"Well? What's it say?" inquired Aang.

Wu shakily examined them. "Fragments. Pieces. Everything you remember, everything you trust are in shambles. A great and terrible power arises… and the balance must be restored. But…" Wu shook her head. "I am getting an image. An image of…"

Without finishing her sentence, Wu got up and hurried over to a set of books on the shelves. Flipping through them rapidly, she went through ten before holding up the picture. "Here," she said, pointing to a glossy photograph of a tower in the middle of nowhere. "Here is where the answers begin. But where they end, I cannot say."

Aang took the book and looked at the image. "Can… I take this book? To show Doctor T?"

Wu nodded. "In fact, you should go. Immediately. And quickly."

"I will." Rushing out the door, Aang paused and bowed before heading out.

*

*

"Now I have to say that that was our best battle yet," said Sokka. "We finished it off quickly as soon as we zorded up."

"It would have been over if you took my advice sooner," grumbled Zuko. "Hey Katara, where's Aang anyhow?"

"I left him at Aunt Wu's," said Katara. "He should be back by now."

"You brought him to a fortunetelling crockpot?" inquired Sokka. "I can't believe you believe in that nonsense!"

"And here we go again," sighed Zuko, facepalming as Katara inhaled to defend herself.

"THIS IS IT!" cried Aang from inside of the garage, forestalling an argument. Aang came running out, waving a printout around. "Guys, this is the place I saw in my dream!"

Sokka looked at the image shoved under his nose, took the picture and held it out. "The Southern Air Temple?" inquired Sokka.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Aang. "Aunt Wu saw something in my future or past or something, and she found the image. It matches what she saw and what I see in my dreams! If we can just go to the Southern Air Temple I'm sure we'd—"

"Aang, hold on a moment." Said Katara. "The Southern Air Temple… we can't go there."

"Why not? I mean its outside the dome and all but…"

"You don't understand," said Zuko, cutting in. "NONE of you do. You might think it's just a building but its not."

Everyone looked at him. "What do you mean it's not just a building?" asked Sokka.

"What I mean is it's not just an abandoned temple. It's a Azulon facility. And I destroyed it; saving Aang. I'm sorry, but there's nothing else to go to but smouldering ruins."


	7. Chapter 7: Ranger Yellow Part 2

Ranger Yellow Part 2

*

*

"Ranger Yellow, where are you going?"

Aang cringed. The relentless eyes of Doctor T had once again caught him redhanded. "To… the… bathroom?"

"In that case, you may wish to put down your morpher and head upstairs."

"Yes sir. Ma'am. Whatever." Dejected, Aang returned his morpher to the proper place and he headed up the stairs. At the top, Katara was waiting for him, dressed in a bathrobe and nightgown. "Come to yell at me too?"

"Not really," replied Katara. "Look, can we talk a little?"

Sitting down Aang on the sofa in her room, Katara folded her hands in front of her. "Look Aang, I know this must be tough for you but without proper intel on the location, we'd be walking into a slaughter. Azulon forces could have rebuilt it by now."

"I know that," replied Aang.

"You know that. So why are you acting like you can't understand it?" Katara sighed. "As team leader I have to worry about everyone; one can only hope that Sokka ALONE doesn't mess up the entire world with a stray shot or something. But I worry for everyone, as a friend."

"Thanks," said Aang. "I guess I've been… kind of stubborn lately."

"Kind of?" chuckled Katara. "Aang you've stolen your morpher three times, tried to sneak out five times and then tried to hijack a PLANE despite it being out of fuel."

"Y-yeah, it was kinda stupid," chuckled Aang. "All right. I'll be getting some rest then."

"All right. Good night."

"Night." As Aang entered his room, Katara turned to a monitor, flicked it on and said, "Doctor T? Lock him in his room."

"The last few attempts didn't work. But very well."

*

*

"You locked me in my room last night," accused Aang that morning when he came down for breakfast.

"No, Doctor T locked you in your room. I just make sure the doors were tight. Waffle?" replied Katara in kind.

Aang glared at both her and the monitor which made a sound that was like a synthesized snicker. "Ignore the doctor behind the monitor."

"At least she didn't duct tape you to the floor," said Sokka. "She did it to me once. Not fun."

"And to date this is why Sokka has no hair on his arms," added Katara and Sokka choked out of embarrassment.

"I was WONDERING about that," mused Zuko, shaking his head.

"Series Yellow," said Doctor T and Aang looked up. "Due to your constant breaking and entering of the vault, I have decided to give you back your morpher. Also, telemetry has been updated. Displaying on the screen now."

A image appeared on the screen nearest them as a layout of a towering island in the middle of nowhere appeared. "Well that looks… wonderful," said Sokka. "Like The Boiling Rock but much more forboding."

"This is all that remains of the Southern Air Temple," said Doctor T. "As you can see, since our resident boom-happy prince has blown it up—"

"Guilty," said Zuko, thinking of the carnage he spread that day.

"—the rest of the facility is indeed empty. The Azulon forces have stripped the remaining technology left behind, withdrawing from the area. It seems that they are unwilling to patrol it from a certain radius."

"So that means we can go in, and find out what's going on in that place and why its popping up in Aang's memories?" inquired Sokka. "I'm game for a little field trip."

"Negative Ranger Black," replied Doctor T. "Only Ranger Yellow and Blue will go on this trip. Ranger Black and Red are required to stay behind and prevent an attack from becoming one with casualties."

"Awwwwwwww!" protested Sokka.

"You know, it might be better for me to go, considering that I know the place," said Zuko.

"Zuko has a point. And with Sokka, I can manage a two-man combination with the zords," added Katara. "With Zuko we'd need all three or fight individually."

"Very well," said Doctor T finally. "Series Red, you're with Series Yellow on this mission. See to that you bring the proper necessities. I will contact General Iroh and have him lower the shields long enough for you both to fly your zords out of the immediate area."

As the group broke after breakfast, Aang looked at Zuko and said, "Thanks."

"No thanks are needed," replied Zuko. "Besides, I've got my own reasons for investigating that place."

*

*

"Series Yellow, Series Red, you are a go for take off. Be warned once the shield is down, Azulon forces will most likely move in to our position. Defend as much as you can before leaving the confines of the shield."

"Got it," said Zuko, already sitting in the cockpit of the Dragon-Hawk Zord.

"One other thing," added Doctor T. "Due to the radiation, you will be out of contact after a certain distance. Once you reach the outskirts of Omashu, you will unable to reach myself, although I can keep track of you with what remains of our satellites.'

"All right. We'll stay safe and get back home. Isn't that right Appa?"

The giant yellow zord rumbled and Aang chuckled. "Lets do this."

"Opening the shield," reported General Iroh from his end. "Good luck Rangers."

"Count on it. Lets go Aang!" Zuko took off into the morning sky with Aang following with a command of YipYip!

After a long moment, one of Iroh's aids reported "They're out of the shield zone. Returning it to full power."

"Detecting intrusion in sector 15," reported Suki who was manning her own console. "Looks like it's another Azulon attack bot."

"Confirmed," agreed Doctor T. "Series Black and Series Blue, move to intercept."

"On our way."

*

*

"For a flight across hostile territory, this isn't so bad," remarked Aang as he put Appa on autopilot, following the landscape and predetermined route.

"Just keep your heads up active," replied Zuko, a little tense. "No telling WHAT we might find out here."

Aang nodded as he leaned back. The zord beneath him rumbled and he patted the console. "It's okay buddy, nothing's gonna hurt you there."

"Hurt him?" scoffed Zuko as he pulled Dragon-Hawk into a climb to gain more altitude. "He's a 300 ton death machine capable of interlinking with ours to make it even more boom-y. What's the zord got to worry about?"

"Caves for one," replied Aang.

Silence. And then Zuko replied, "Since when do zords fear caves? It's not really ALIVE you know Aang."

"Appa is to me," replied Aang and the Red Ranger let out a deep sigh. "Besides, we're approaching Omashu. Wow, it took shorter than I thought."

"We've been flying at nearly 500 miles per hour for at least 4 hours Aang. Of course we're going to get here quickly," replied Zuko. "Engage your cloak. I don't want the machines down there to notice we're flying overhead."

"Right. Engaging cloak now."

As the pair of zords shifted from their bright spectrums to a clear finish, Aang asked, "Zuko? You think we could look around Omashu for a minute?"

"Why would you want to do that?" inquired Zuko curiously. "It's nothing but a giant factory now. Take a look."

Aang did so, toggling his display. What he saw made him scowl under his helmet. Giant smokestacks dotted the once majestic kingdom, dark clusters of moving devices were fusing robots together, and thousands of robotic soldiers were tromping over the landscape.

"That's all wrong," he said.

"I know, and sooner or later we'll retake Omashu and give our world a fighting chance," replied Zuko.

"No I mean…" Aang squinted at the chutes delivering things. "I… oh forget it."

"What is it?" pressed Zuko.

"I just get this feeling…. Someone would never let this happen to their city. Someone… who is… very… patient." Clutching his head, Aang shook it. Appa rumbled in concern and Zuko asked, "Aang?"

"It's nothing," said Aang finally as he shook his head. "Maybe a memory though."

"We'll get someone to look at that," replied Zuko, the pair continuing their fight across Omashu. "We're almost out of range. If there's anything you want to say to the guys back in Ba Sing Se, now would be a good time."

"… no. Let's keep going."

Silently, the pair of zords continued on their way, undetected by the teeming masses of machines below.

*

*

"Who bad? I'm bad. We're bad!"

"If you mean bad as in getting thrown around the landscape by Azula, then yes, you're bad." Retorted Katara. "And really Sokka, do you and Aang have something out for that poor cabbage vendor?"

"He's in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not my fault my zord knocked his cabbages down into the lower sector." Said Sokka with a lazy shrug.

Katara sighed, massaged the bridge of her nose sensing a headache long associated with Sokka being a complete idiot coming on, and wished she has some medicine for it. "Sokka…"

"Sokka!" called out a voice and the pair turned to see Suki running up to them. "Glad I caught up with you two," she said, puffing. "You Rangers run fast you know?"

"Yeah, but that's cause we've got superpowers," said Sokka, flexing. Katara elbowed the teen. "What?"

"Something we can do for you Suki?" inquired Katara.

"Yeah. I got to thinking actually about my hometown, Kiyoshi Island. And I was wondering if you could send a message to Aang and Zuko to drop by there and see how everyone was doing," said Suki. "If they're not out of range I mean."

"They shouldn't be," mused Katara, pulling out her morpher and keying in Aang's frequency. "Aang, do you read me?"

"Kinda," replied Aang, his voice full of static. "Almost out of Omashu. What's up?"

"Suki wants to know if you can stop by Kiyoshi Island and see if they're still holding out," replied Katara.

"And ask if they've heard any rumors regarding the Avatar," put in Suki loudly, enough so that it could be picked up.

"Right, so Avatar and Kiyoshi Island," replied Zuko. "Hey we're about to loose you two. Is there any—"

Static.

"They're out of range now," said Katara. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be safe. And the Kiyoshi Islanders too."

"That's what I'm hoping for," sighed Suki, rubbing her arm. "I left them in charge while I made the trip to Ba Sing Se. Was hoping that I could come back but with the attacks picking up and my new job…"

"Hey," said Sokka, patting the girl on the shoulder. "I'm sure they're safe. They're the Kiyoshi Warriors. If they can fight as well as you can, I'm sure they'll be completely safe."

Suki nodded and Sokka grinned. "All right! Who's up for some traditional Water Tribe stew?"

*

*

"What was that about?" inquired Aang curiously as the connection terminated, dissolving into static.

"Kiyoshi Island is one of the few last free places in the world outside the dome," explained Zuko. "It's somewhere in between the Southern Air Temple, the South Pole itself and the Earth Kingdom Mainland. Sort of a cultural hub and all with its still booming trade. Though I'm sure by now they've become a bit reclusive."

"I get it. So why are they holding out so well?"

"That I don't know. I never got a chance to visit Kiyoshi Island, and quite frankly, I don't know how they'd take two zords landing off the coast." Replied Zuko.

"Oh I see. How far is it?"

"Well we're in luck. It's right in between of us and the Southern Air Temple. Adjust your trajectory and follow me in Aang. And stay cloaked too – no telling what sort of crap we're going to deal with."

"Right."

The pair of zords rippled and became clear once more as they pulled downwards towards the island ahead. "We'll land there, on the coast just to the north of any major towns," said Zuko. "Get out and then store Appa away. We'll need to keep a low profile."

Aang blinked. "I don't think that bright red and yellow spandex counts as a low profile Zuko."

Zuko blew out a frustrated groan. "Aang you fool, we're going to depower once we land. We'll morph when we need to continue."

"Oh. Right," replied Aang lamely.

*

*

"Now remember, keep a low profile," reminded Zuko. He had stolen a pair of clothes in Water Tribe colors while Aang still wore his yellow and tans. "And seriously Aang, you couldn't have put something else on that doesn't scream "Classic" or something?"

"I like my clothes," replied Aang defensively as they made their way into the town proper. "And besides, you look out of place in that blue outfit."

Zuko tugged at his collar, a little uncomfortable as they rounded into the square. "So far it looks fine," mused Zuko as he gazed around. True while there were signs of a fresh attack and the pile of grinders that lay in a corner in pieces, the town was bustling with life. People dressed in blue were running around, mixed with the greens and yellows of the Earth Kingdom. "It's like stepping into the past," mused Zuko, noting the thatched huts and decorations.

"Feels welcoming," said Aang. Suddenly, he bumped into a large man who came around the corner, spilling his drink on him. "Oh! S-so sorry!" cried Aang. "Er um…!"

Patting down the man's clothing and trying to get the liquid out of it, desperation welled up in Aang as he waved his hands at it. Zuko was the first to notice and then everyone did as a gust of air exploded upwards, drying the man's shirt instantly.

"What… did… you… just… do?" demanded Zuko, grabbing Aang by the front of his shirt.

"I panicked!" cried Aang. "So I accidentally used my Ranger powers!"

"That would be all well and good IF you were morphed!" retorted Zuko, but then the edge of a fan slid next to his neck and he froze.

"Unhand the Avatar," snapped a female voice and the pair noticed they were surrounded by the local guard. Women dressed in a decorative green and white robe with elaborate hairstyles, all with their faces painted.

Aang was the first to speak. "Avatar wot?"

"So much for a low profile," grumbled Zuko.

*

*

The pair of Rangers had been bodily marched to the main hall where a crowd of people were gathering. The leader of the Kiyoshi Warriors, a mere slip of a girl by Zuko's standards, stood before them. "I am Hana, leader of the Kiyoshi Warriors in place of Suki our sister who has journeyed to Ba Sing Se."

"Zuko, and this is Aang," said Zuko and Aang gave a little wave. "What's this all about? Why are you making us into a spectacle?"

Hana narrowed her eyes. "You do not know? You travel with the last Airbender, the Avatar himself."

"Me?" inquired Aang, patting himself down. "I don't feel like an Avatar."

"Aang's a kid I rescued from the Southern Air Temple Azulon facility," replied Zuko. "He doesn't even remember his own name, let alone these Avatar duties."

"So then you admit to him being the Avatar?" pressed Hana.

"I admit nothing," replied Zuko stubbornly. "I've only heard of the Avatar in those old storybooks and legends. There's no proof that Aang is the Avatar, or would be at any case. Or even the last one."

"What do you mean?" inquired Hana. "The Air Nomads were wiped out."

"Not all of them," replied Zuko. "I met a couple during my travels in the wastes while o my mission. They're out there, few and scattered, but any one of them could be the Avatar."

"And what of his Air Nomad Tattoos?" inquired Hana, gesturing to Aang's bare arms. "And his clothing. If that does not speak of the Air Nomads and the potential he is the Avatar, then what of it?"

"She's got a point," replied Aang.

"That doesn't mean a thing. It's all coincidence," denied Zuko. "Look, he can bend because we're Power Rangers. Nothing more. Some of the power musta seeped into his body or something. We're just on our way to the Southern Air Temple to get some answers."

"You can't simulate bending," replied Hana and Zuko replied with "Yes you can!" She smirked. "Then prove it. Show us this bending of yours."

"All right." Zuko pulled his morpher but then Aang laid a hand on his friend's arm. "Let me. They want to see Airbending right?"

"Aang your tech doesn't work properly at times. What if it doesn't work?" inquired Zuko.

"Then we go to Plan B."

"He-LOO I can hear you two over here!" The pair turned towards Hana sheepishly. "If you're too busy debating, maybe we'll just throw the guy in my uncle's clothing into a cell for a while."

"Whoa, no need for that," replied Zuko but Aang was already loading his morpher.

"A.D.S.! MAX DRIVE!" cried out Aang, throwing his arm and the device forward. In a burst of yellow light, he stood there in his full Ranger outfit. "All right, I'll show you my bending."

Hana snickered. Then, another girl did. And then people started laughing. Aang blinked and scratched his helmet. "Something I did?"

"That's… that's… that's the silliest thing I've seen!" laughed Hana, doubled over in laughter with most of the crowd. "Imagine…! The Avatar prancing around in that?"

"Hey!" protested Aang. He was certainly pouting under his helmet. "Zuko, you don't think its weird, right?"

Zuko shook his head. "I don't get the joke either Aang."

*

*

"All right, prepare to be amazed!" proclaimed Aang as he stood in front of the crowd. "Feast your eyes upon the wonders of Doctor T's technology, as I attempt to bend the air around you!"

Aang moved his hands, sweeping into the gentle circular motions and then, threw them apart to create a gust of wind.

Nothing. Except for the birds chirping.

Aang blinked, and then threw out his hands again. Then he wiggled them around. Did a funny dance. And then he said, "Um, having some technical difficulties people. One moment."

Scampering over to Zuko he whispered, "Zuko! It's not working! Why isn't it working?"

"I don't know," hissed back Zuko. "Just stay calm and try to bend."

Aang shuffled back into position. "BEHOLD!" he cried, throwing his arms into the air, trying to stir up a small tornado.

Not even a leaf moved. And someone coughed in the crowd.

"I've seen enough," said Hana, clearly unimpressed. "It's obvious that what we saw was a freak gust of wind."

Aang wilted. "But I can airbend, I really can!"

"Aang." Zuko laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sometimes in the long run, it's best to stop now. We've defended Doctor T's work. That should be enough."

"I know," said Aang, depowering in a flash of yellow light. "I just wanted to…"

Suddenly, a loud bell began to ring and people started to move into their homes. "What's going on?" asked Zuko as Hana and her girls marched up.

"An attack," replied Hana before they took off towards the harbour. Zuko and Aang exchanged glances and followed.

Making it to the docks, Zuko peered into the horizon. "Black dots. Black SHIPS," he said, realizing what they were. "Azulon."

"I don't get it, why ships?" inquired Aang, peering out into the water. "Why don't they just attack from the air like they do in Ba Sing Se?"

"Because Ba Sing Se has the dome," replied Zuko. "It's impenetrable from land so they have to attack through the dome, bring it down before they can move an attack bot in. This place is so backwater, I'm surprised it's held out so long."

"We're not backwater," snapped Hana. "And besides, this happens every 12 hours. Like clockwork and then it stops."

"Why?" inquired Zuko. "Once the Azulon forces have a directive, nothing short of total annihilation of their forces will—" He was cut off by one of the ships exploding into a million pieces.

"That's your answer," said Hana, gesturing towards the open ocean where a huge monster erupted from the water. "The guardian beast of Kiyoshi Island – the Unagi."

Without stopping, the Unagi ripped through two more ships and Aang proclaimed, "WHOA!" as waves battered the dock.

"The Unagi's a blessing from Avatar Kiyoshi," explained Hana. "So far, it's been guarding this land, making it safe from harm."

"There's still a lot of ships, and Azulon has forces and tactical skills," reminded Zuko. "What makes you think that it can defend against more advances?"

"Because, we have faith in the Avatar," replied Hana and Zuko snorted. "Besides, the Unagi is able to—"

Suddenly, a piercing cry from the Unagi was heard and Hana whipped around, staring in horror. "NO!" she yelled as the ships fired red beams that wrapped around the monster, holding it in place while three other ships made their way past the Unagi unmolested.

"You were saying?" said Zuko.

"This can't be! The Unagi's our only hope against the invaders!" exclaimed Hana.

"Well, you've just got two more pieces of help," said Zuko. "Aang!"

"Right." And in tandem, the pair chorused, "A.D.S.! MAX DRIVE!"

"Take to the skies," commanded Zuko once fully suited up. "Appa has the belly-weapons needed to fire at them so aim for the ships binding the Unagi."

"What about you?" inquired Aang.

"I'll deal with whatever makes it past you. Now go!"

"Right. Downmorphing Flying Bison Zord!" In a flash of light, the miniature form of the zord appeared from Aang's chest as he threw an Engine Cell into the back of it, causing the machine to grow expontentially. Leaping into the cockpit, he toggled the speakers. "Zuko, I'm going now! Lets go Appa, YIP YIP!"

With a loud bellow, the zord launched itself into the air. Hana looked at Zuko and said, "Okay. What's the plan? Besides you taking on an army?"

"I haven't quite figured that part out yet," replied Zuko as the ships closed in.


	8. Chapter 8: Ranger Yellow Part 3

Ranger Yellow Part 3

*

*

"I see it!" exclaimed Aang, pulling Appa into a steep climb before zooming down. "Fire!"

Lasers and missiles roared from the underbelly of the giant zord as the ships finally made their mark, landing on the shore line. There, Zuko was waiting with Dragon Swords in hand. The first Grinder that stepped off the ship had its head blown off by a blast of fire. "C'mon!" roared Zuko as he ploughed right into the ranks, cutting them down one by one as he pressed into the tightly packed hordes.

The second ship managed to get a few off-loaded before a large stone came careening out of nowhere, slamming the pack of Grinders into nothing more than spare parts. Hana yelled "Again!" and a team of elderly earthebenders hurled yet another volley of rocks at the enemy.

"The first ship is down Zuko," reported Aang. "But they're a lot more heavily armoured than usual."

"Water based craft usually are," replied Zuko as he sliced several more enemies into pieces. "More things to go wrong, more things to tighten up!" He yelped as a stray boulder slammed into the bots behind him. "HEY!"

"Sorry, bad aim!" called out one of the elderly men before he bent another stone towards the third ship.

Laser barrages were traded as the zord and the remaining ships fired at each other. One of them abandoned the restraining device and fired on Appa, the red beam wrapping around the leg. The zord groaned and Aang proclaimed, "I'm hit!" Before he sent Appa into a dive.

"Pull up!" cried out Zuko before he was dogpiled by Grinders.

Aang pulled up on the controls as the red beam hauled him downwards. As he did so, a brief memory of him pulling up on the reigns of something large in a vicious storm caused him to slam the weapons. Lasers rocketed from the mouth of the zord and it blew the machine into a million pieces, the zord impacting the water.

"FLAME BURST!" cried Zuko and the grinders went flying from his special attack. Mustering up flames, he ignited the ship and threw himself off it before it detonated moments later. Erupting from the water, he scrambled out of it and back onto the shore. "Aang?"

The water bubbled far out and then Appa erupted from it with a loud groan. "Did you know Flying Bison are also water mammals?" inquired Aang.

Zuko had to laugh as Aang rounded the zord onto the rest of the ships, blowing them to high heaven.

*

*

"Thank you travelers for helping us in our day of need," said Hana and the people bowed with them. "If it weren't for your machines, we couldn't have defeated the Azulon attack ships today."

"The Unagi can't protect you all the time," reminded Zuko. "Which means you need strong training for benders. And now that Azulon knows we're protecting your island as well, he might start sending fliers to nuke your place from the sky."

"But we have no defense against flying machines," protested one of the elders. "Where can we get such a thing?"

Aang, who had been silent through the exchange, had been thinking. "Zuko, you said that the Southern Air Temple had been converted to a facility right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" inquired Zuko.

"Could it be possible that even after you blew it up, there's something there that they could use?"

Zuko frowned as he folded his arms in thought. "It's possible," he finally said. "But the possibility of there actually being anything left provided the Azulon troops haven't stripped it down yet is low."

"Still though, it's where we're going." Aang looked at the assembled people and said, "We're going to Southern Air Temple. Me and Zuko. And if there's a way that we can bring something to defend you with, then we'll bring it back immediately. You have our word."

A chorus of nods and murmurs were heard and Hana nodded. "Take care you two."

Zuko nodded as he turned around. "Downmorphing Dragon-Hawk." In an instant, the giant flying zord appeared and Zuko leapt high into the air to get into his zord. "Aang you coming?"

"Just a second!" Turning back to Hana, Aang bowed. "I'm sorry I wasn't your Avatar, but if it helps, I'm sure wherever he or she is, they're doing the best against the Azulon forces."

"Take care." Hana kissed him on the cheek of his helmet and Aang's blush was apparent through it. Waving, he ran over to Appa who was sitting in the water, and leaped into the cockpit.

"Yip Yip!" He commanded, the machine rumbling and flying into the sky.

*

*

"So…" said Zuko after a half hour of silence. "You really want to go through with this?"

"We've come this far," replied Aang, working the controls. "I can't just let it sit. And we promised those people that if we find something to defend them with; we'll give it to them."

Zuko sighed noisily as he pulled the Dragon-Hawk to a landing position on what was originally a landing strip for Flying Bison. "Pull up your Zord and we'll walk from here." He said, getting out and recalling his zord. Aang followed close behind.

The pair crept through the temple in silence, partly due to the reverence they were paying in respect to the fallen Air Nomads, and partly to the fact that they were worried Azulon forces were still in residence. Large chunks of the temple were ruined, scorched by the fire-based weapons used by the Azulon forces.

"Look at this," said Zuko finally, running a finger across the jagged rock. "It's cut, not smashed or burnt."

"Why would that be a surprise?" inquired Aang. "They use lasers right?"

"Yeah, but a laser would leave a residual scorching mark across the rock even if it was burnt. This was sheared. Uneven but it was broken through by some kind of wind. Air Nomads possibly."

"Would some of them be alive?" inquired Aang, clutching his Glider Staff in case some sort of deranged person would jump at the pair of Rangers.

"I don't think so," said Zuko. "C'mon, lets head in further."

The pair moved deeper into the ruins, finding signs of technology that was ripped out of the walls, presumably when the Azulon troops had stripped their base. Large holes and chunks of ruined rooms and old destroyed weapons littered the floor. Soon though, the pair entered a large room, still intact. "Look at this," murmured Zuko as he shined the light he was carrying onto a large set of doors.

"They're the inner sanctum doors," said Aang suddenly. "I think—augh!" Aang clutched his head as a million memories flashed through his head.

"Aang?" Zuko was at his side, supporting the smaller Ranger. "You okay?"

"I-I'm fine," stammered Aang, straightening up and leaning on his Glider Staff. "we should keep going."

"Shouldn't we open the doors first and see what's inside?" inquired Zuko curiously.

"No, they're special doors. Look." Shining his light at the doors, Aang illuminated a pair of large curled horns on either end of them. "Only an Airbender can access the internal part of the temple, and you can't force your way in without the entire temple coming down on your ears."

"How do you know all this?" inquired Zuko and Aang shrugged. "Whatever. C'mon, lets keep searching."

Heading up a flight of stairs, they came to a outcropping where one could look onto the broken courtyard below that was formerly covered in trees. "Something about this place seems familiar," mused Aang as he ran a gloved hand across the stones. "And that hearth over there…"

Zuko examined the hearth and surmised it was once used for baking. "Air Nomads were never much for technology," he surmised.

"They really weren't," agreed Aang. "In fact, I don't think they had indoor plumbing."

Zuko wrinkled his nose. "Indoor plumbing was old a 100 years ago. Don't tell me they used chamber pots?" Aang opened his mouth and Zuko interrupted with "That was rhetorical. Don't answer that. EVER."

Aang wisely closed his mouth as the pair headed up the stairs and into a set of rooms. "Looks like the bots didn't get this far," said Zuko, pushing open a door to a room that was still mostly intact.

Aang stepped into the room afterwards and he froze. Gazing around the room, a memory came back to him.

We need to go, leave the temple. Can't handle this…!

"Aang? AANG! You've spaced on me again!" snapped Zuko. "Do you recognise this place or not?"

"Y-yeah… I do," stammered Aang. "It's strange but I…"

Reaching out and touching the post of the small bed that had long since rotted away, Aang cried out as he slumped to his knees holding his head in pain. Zuko was at his side immediately but the boy suddenly leaped up, running headlong out of the room, skidding around and charging downwards. "AANG!" yelled Zuko, taking chase.

The boy leaped around the corner and skidded downwards. 'I have to know, I NEED to know! What's all this, what are these images I see?!'

"AANG STOP!" yelled Zuko and Aang skidded into a curtained off area with a loud crash. Running up to the area, he pushed the moldy curtain aside and demanded, "What was that about?"

"I don't know," coughed Aang, getting out of the pile of things that he had slammed into. "But I knew somehow that I needed to get away."

"Bad memories?" said Zuko as he helped Aang to his feet. "C'mon lets—whoa."

Turning around to where Zuko was staring, Aang's eyes went wide under his helmet. A choked gasp emitted from his throat as Aang stared at the sight. The skeleton of an Air Nomad was standing there amidst a pile of skeletons and machine parts. He seemed to be entreating the sky.

"What a monument," muttered Zuko. "Aang?"

Aang was shaking as he choked, "Standby." His helmet vanished and he rubbed his eyes, disbelieving what he saw before him. And then, he started to chant. "No. No. No, No, No, No, No, NO!"

"Aang calm down! What's wrong with this!"

"It can't be, it's not possible!" yelled Aang. "Not him! Not Gyatso! BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT I DIDN'T WANT THIS TO HAPPEN!"

Zuko clasped a hand on his friend's shoulder but suddenly, was thrown backwards by a gust of air that erupted from him. "WHOA!" Summoning his Dragon Sword he drove it into the rock to prevent himself from being thrown into open air. 'What's… going on?'

A faint mark under Aang's black hair started to glow and it spread down his body, showing through his suit in a luminescent glow of blue light. Letting out a scream that was equal parts rage and pain, Aang floated upwards and light poured from his eyes and mouth as a hurricane-force wind blasted around him.

*

*

"Series Blue and Series Black, deploy Zords and prepare for immediate departure," ordered Doctor T.

"What's going on?" inquired Sokka as he jumped into his zord.

"Lowering the shields," replied Doctor T and he scowled.

"Can you tell us what's going on FIRST before sending us out?" demanded Sokka.

"I've detected a massive power spike in the region belonging to the Southern Air Temple," replied Doctor T tersely. "It is unlike anything I've ever registered before. Azulon forces have already diverted attention from us to it. Series Blue and Black, you are a go for hyper-drive."

"Wait that's never been tested!" protested Sokka but then Katara cut in.

"Affirmative. Preparing for hyper-drive boost." Stated Katara.

"Katara!"

"Sokka… Aang needs us." Said Katara, her hands gripping the steering wheel. "I just know. He's in pain and he needs us."

Sokka had no more time to argue as the two zords were launched from the bay at a speed defying most limits.

*

*

"Master, a spike of energy has been registered," said Ozai. "Location: Southern Air Temple."

Silence was heard from the large tube and Zhao cleared his processor. "Master?"

"It has come," stated Azulon and the trio, including Azula shot bewildered looks between each other. "SEND THEM OUT! ALL OF THE FLIERS WE HAVE! I WANT THAT TEMPLE RAZED!"

"Yes great one!"

*

*

"Aang quit it or there's going to be nothing left!" cried Zuko as he sliced a piece of rock flying at his head with his free hand and sword. "AANG!"

"Zuko!" crackled his helmet comm. "Are you there? ZUKO!"

"Little busy right now trying not to get thrown into frickin space!" snapped Zuko and then blinked. "Wait, what are you two doing outside the dome!"

"Nice to see you too," snorted Sokka. "Doctor T sent us on hyper-drive express."

"Zuko what's going on in there?" demanded Katara as she pulled the zord up to the landing strip, dismissing it as Sokka did the same. "All I see is like a hurricane up there!"

"You tell me!" yelled Zuko through the comm. "Get up here NOW! Aang's going nuts!"

The pair charged up the stairs, leaping from balcony to balcony before landing at the front. A mighty gust of wind greeted them and Sokka fought to regain his balance. Katara grabbed him by the front of his armour and hauled him close. "Stick by me," she commanded, pushing through the winds.

"Aang?" called out Katara as she managed to push into the small area. "Oh my…"

"Little help here?" demanded Zuko as he finally lost his grip. Sokka lunged and grabbed him, anchoring the pair with his own weapon. "Thanks."

"No prob. I hate it when I get thrown into space." Quipped Sokka.

Inching her way through the wind, Katara pushed towards Aang who was still blasting hurricane level winds everywhere. "Aang? Aang listen to me! Aang!"

"It's all gone," said Aang in a faint voice that reverberated with sadness. "It's all gone… And it's my fault… I shouldn't have run…!"

"No, no it's not all gone," said Katara. Grabbing him around the middle, she whispered "power down" and in an instant, the winds became about 150% more unbearable. However she bore with it and hugged him close. "We're here. It's not all gone. C'mon, come back to us."

Slowly the winds began to die down and the glow faded from his body as Aang slumped to the ground. "That's okay," said Katara, hugging him close. "We're here."

"That's all well and good," said Sokka as he tried to push Zuko off him, the prince having clung for dear life. "And while we'd like to hash out the touchy feely stuff – Zuko off!—we need to figure out how we're going to get out of here before the Azulon forces come and blow us all up."

"That's right, we came with a warning. We need to get out of here before the air assault teams make their way here," said Katara. "C'mon Aang, we need to go."

"No wait," said Aang. "There's something I need to do. Something important."

"We don't have time for that!" protested Sokka.

"Wait," said Zuko, interrupting the oncoming rant. "Aang, did you…?"

"I'll explain it all later, but for now, we need to get down to the doors of the inner sanctum," said Aang.

*

*

Aang stood at the doors and inhaled. Going through motions, he felt his chi swell as he thrust forward. Twin gusts of air erupted from his hands and funnelled into the horns on either side. "Whoa," remarked Sokka. "Hey sis, why can't you do something like that yet?"

"Shut up," grumbled Katara as the doors creaked open.

Aang gestured towards the doors and the four headed inside. "Dark," said Sokka needlessly.

Zuko flicked on a light and played it around the room. The light caught a tall form standing there and the group jumped. "It's okay!" exclaimed Aang. "It's a statue."

"Hey, I know this guy," remarked Sokka as he examined the statue. "Ain't this Avatar Roku?"

"Yeah, the previous Avatar," said Zuko. "He represented the Fire Nation in its prime."

"There's more," said Katara, moving her light around. "Statues of all sorts of people. Must have been all of the previous Avatars."

Aang ignored his friends for a moment before he walked up to the statue of Roku. Touching it, the statue's eyes glowed and in an instant, Aang's eyes glowed in reply.

*

*

"Wha… where am I?" said Aang, looking around the brilliantly lit sky with all of its clouds.

"You are with us," said an elderly voice and Aang turned to see a tall man dressed in robes. "I am Avatar Roku, and I am also you, Aang."

Aang blinked. "I don't quite understand. What do you mean by that?"

Roku gazed upon the younger boy. "You are, the Last Airbender Aang, but also a being of powerful significance in our world. You are the Avatar, the one who is set to balance the world."

"But, I'm already doing that, as a Power Ranger," said Aang. "I can't be two people at once."

Roku chuckled. "That technological marvel is holding you back Aang. Without it, you have the power to conjure winds, move mountains, make entire volcanos erupt and control the water of the world. You must learn how to harness all four elements, and save this world from this unnatural disaster."

"But I… I can't. Not after I ran away the last time," said Aang. "I remember it all now. All of it. How I ran, afraid of the duty set on my head. With the others, Sokka, Katara, Zuko, I can do this. Not just myself but all of us as a team."

"I did not say you had to do it alone," replied Roku. "But you alone have the power to master the elements. But you can face your trials and destiny with the people around you. Take heart that they care for your safety."

Aang nodded. "What should I do first?"

"First you must master Water. Like all elements, it comes in sequence. From Water to Earth to Fire to Air, and back again. Find a master who can teach you each of these things, and I am sure you will come to understand that being an Avatar is much more than a duty – it's a challenge."

"One last thing," added Roku. "Check beneath my statue. There is something of use."

*

*

Aang awoke to the sensation of Sokka shaking him like a rag doll. "CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Ack, Sokka!" proclaimed Aang. "I'm fine, I'm fine!"

"You were standing there for like almost ten minutes!" exclaimed Sokka. "Don't tell me this is more of your voodoo?"

"I'll explain later. For now, help me move the statue." Aang put his shoulder against the statue and began to push and Sokka, Katara and Zuko pushed until it toppled over, revealing a pair of devices under it.

"So what is that anyhow?" inquired Zuko. "I've never seen it before."

"Something Roku told me will help. Now c'mon, lets get out of here before the attack begins." Said Aang. Seconds later, the temple was rocked with an explosion.

"Too late," deadpanned Katara.

*

*

"The attack is proceeding well," said Zhao. "In moments, it will be reduced to rubble."

"Make no mistakes this time," warned Azulon. "I want nothing left standing."

"Great one, may I ask what has prompted such a reply?" inquired Ozai.

"The energy reading was a powerful one, and only one being could cause such a register – the Avatar."

"The Avatar?" scoffed Azula. "With all due respect great one, but there's been no sign of one. And we wiped out the Air Nomads to ensure it."

"Nevertheless, take no precautions. I want that temple reduced to smouldering cinders."

"Uh, I hate to break in here, but look what just popped out of the temple," pointed out Zhao. On the screen, the A.D.S. Megazord erupted out of the side of the building, immediately taking out a swathe of fighters. "Shall I send in the aerial attack bot?"

Azula and Ozai winced as Zhao was blown apart. "I'll take that as a yes," grunted Zhao's head.

*

*

"Aang you're back!" exclaimed Hana as he landed, leaping from his zord. "Did you find something?"

"I did," said Aang, holding up the small cube in his hands. "It's a shield generator. Just put it in the center of your town and it'll protect the island. Now I gotta go."

"W-Wait!" exclaimed Hana. "You did so much for us. We must thank you."

Aang smiled. "You can thank me later after we get rid of this squadron and the attack bot so close to your home." Leaping into his zord, he rubbed the console. "Ready to go Appa?"

The Flying Bison zord rumbled in agreement. "Lets go boy. Yip Yip!"

Heading back to the temple at top speed, Aang flew through a squadron, blasting several to bits. "Whoa, looks like I'm late for the party," he quipped as the massive plane-type attack bot was engaged in a land-to-air battle with the A.D.S. Megazord.

"And not a moment to soon," grunted Zuko. "You want to help out here?"

"Yeah. Lemme just put this in here aaand…!" Slotting in the second device into the zord, the machine hummed with new energy. "Zuko, I'm sending over a new Megazord Configuration Sequence."

"A new one?" exclaimed Zuko. "Aang, Doctor T's going to have our heads if we mess with the zords!"

"At this point we don't have a choice," replied Katara. "Prepare for new configuration."

In a flash of light, the three zords broke apart as they hovered around the Bison Megazord. The Bison's lower half unfolded and locked into the legs formed by the Moose-Lion as the Penguin Otter transformed into a new arm configuration, locking into place on the new provided shoulders. The head of the Bison Zord slid downwards as the Dragon-Hawk locked into the other shoulder and the head flipped up. "Bison Fortress Megazord Online!"

"Okay," said Sokka as they found themselves in the same cockpit instead of their regular ones. "This is really cool."

"Aang how'd you get this?" inquired Zuko.

"Roku gave it to us." Replied Aang. "Here it comes!"

*

*

"Incoming megazord," reported Suki.

"Lower the shields and let them in," said Iroh. Moments later, the new Bison Fortress Megazord lowered itself to the ground before vanishing. "Hmm… a new model?"

"Telemetry confirms it as the A.D.S. Megazord," said Suki, her hands dancing across the keyboard. "However it's in a new configuration with the Bison Zord."

"For the record, I didn't make that," reported Doctor T. "I'm going have some words with my Rangers."

Suki stood up. "Permission to leave the command bridge sir."

"Permission granted." Said Iroh and Suki nodded before saluting and running out the door.

After a nail-biting five minutes of driving, Suki pulled up to the driveway and opened the door of the garage just in time to get a earful of Doctor T's ranting. "You changed the command codes of the megazord interlink! I will be working for days trying to clear it up!"

"But it worked properly," protested Aang. "The A.D.S. Megazord can't fly so we needed some way to defeat the aerial attack bot!"

"Nevertheless, it was dangerous to do. Series Yellow, please refrain in the future from introducing new technology to my zords." With that, the screen flickered off.

"Wow, Doctor T's really mad at you guys," said Suki. "There a problem?"

"Problem as in Aang totally hacking her off? Yes," said Sokka, getting elbowed from Katara.

"We went to Kiyoshi Island Suki," said Zuko. "And they're safe now. Aang found this device that'll power a shield around the island. And Hana sends her greetings."

"That's good," said Suki, sighing. "I was worried about them."

"That's not all," said Sokka. "Aang was doing this glowy thing a while ago. Wanna explain that?"

Aang wore an expression on his face before he sighed. "Everyone should sit down for this one."

Looking at each other, they all took a chair as Aang fidgeted. "I remember everything now. About where I cam from, what I was doing, even who I am. My name IS Aang though."

Aang took a breath. "I am Aang. I'm the Avatar and I'm also 100 years old."


	9. Chapter 9: Ranger Green Part 1

Ranger Green Part 1

*

*

"I don't think this is necessary you know," said Aang as he was hooked up to several machines, wires and other assorted contraptions while laying in a large tube.

"Quiet," said Doctor T. "The doctor's working."

Aang grimaced as the sensor on his tongue was attached. "Whow wuch whonger?"

"A few minutes more," replied Doctor T. "Just lay back and let the good doctor do things to you."

Aang got this cross-eyed expression on his face and Zuko snickered loudly. "Boy talk about horrible innuendo."

Soon though, the tests finally beeped and Doctor T said "Finished. You may remove the sensors."

"Ow, ow, ow," said Aang, pulling the sticky sensors off his chest. "OW!"

"So what's the verdict?" inquired Sokka. "Is it terminal?" Katara hit her brother on the shoulder. "OW! You've been really violent lately!"

"Stress," replied Katara.

"After careful analyzing of Aang's current powers and chi output, I have successfully rewired the biohardware to allow Aang the ability to Airbend without any of the limitations previously set up by the original configuration. In short, he will be able to use his Airbending more naturally even while in Ranger form." Doctor T paused an added, "This would also explain why his natural biorhythms are reading so differently."

"Would this also have to do with my own Waterbending?" inquired Katara.

"Yes it does. I have taken the time to analyze your powers and have adjusted your own suit accordingly. You will now be able to amplify your beginner's skill through the advanced techniques utilized in the Ranger suit technology."

"Great. Sooooo does that mean that I get to bend too?" inquired Sokka hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," replied Doctor T. "Unless you are already attuned to a specific elemental force, you will be unable to use said abilities. That, and the Black suit was already designed in a specific manner, and thus far has been a failure."

Sokka groaned and narrowed his eyes. "What KIND of failure are we talking about?"

"The Series Black was in fact, an attempt to emulate the powers of the Avatar of legend. However, it does have the hardware to enable the Avatar Drive State. But with the A.D.S. inoperable due to problems inherent in the suit itself, we are currently unable to access this level of power for all suits."

"So it's like a awesome plan B," said Sokka.

"A plan B you can't even use," pointed out Zuko.

"While I have your rapt attention," added Doctor T, "there is a little problem I've just been notified about. Report to Gate D. There are a group of refugees making their way into the city. Please go and assist them."

*

*

"Everyone this way!" called out Zuko as he gestured to the gate. "Single file, get on the train in an orderly fashion!"

"Is that everyone?" asked Aang of Sokka who was making a headcount.

"I think so," said Sokka. "Katara?'

"We've got wounded but the medics are already atop of the job," said Katara.

"All right, another successful rescue mission. Lets move on out." Said Zuko but before he could go, a man grabbed his arm. "Sir?"

"Young man, I need your help," panted the man. He was tired and dirty like most of the refugees but his clothing was torn and made of silk. "My wife, she's fallen behind. I tried to get her to safety but she's hurt her leg and--!"

"Say no more sir we'll get her," said Zuko as Katara snapped open her comm line.

"Doctor T, I'm going into the wastes. We've got a rescue mission on our hands."

"Series Blue, take Series Yellow with you. I'm detecting Sand-gliders approaching. I'm downmorphing a new vehicle for the use of this mission."

"Understood. Aang!"

Aang looked up and nodded. "Right, coming!"

"A.D.S. MAX DRIVE!" chorused the pair and in a flash of light, transformed. "Downmorphing R.P.M.," commanded Katara as a large transport vehicle, a heavily modified RV, appeared and sized up.

"Wow, has Doctor T been holding out on us?" remarked Sokka as the pair clambered into the transport. "Hey Doctor T? What's R.P.M. stand for?"

"Roving Performance Machine," replied Doctor T. "Shouldn't you be getting those refugees INTO the city by now?"

"C'mon," said Zuko, hauling the other teen into the city by the shoulder.

"Buckle up," instructed Katara as the vehicle roared to life and tore off into the wastes.

*

*

Poppy has no idea how long it had been, only that she had been out in the wastes for quite some time waiting for her husband to return. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the roar of an engine alerted her and she looked up from her hiding place. The large RV with the letters R.P.M. on the side of it had two forms get out, both in colourful outfits.

"Find anything?" inquired the one in blue as the one in yellow looked around. Female, by her voice.

"Not… wait.." the one in yellow looked over and pointed at her before waving. "Hello! We're here to rescue you!"

Poppy peeked out from behind the hiding place and she waved. "Hello?" she croaked. "Did my husband send you?"

"Yes he did," called out the girl as she ran over, uncorking a canteen. "Here drink up. Aang, help me with her."

"Right." Poppy had a moment to squeak in surprise as the boy in yellow, Aang, caused the air itself to pick her up.

"You're an Airbender!" she gasped. "Then that must mean you're the Avatar!"

Even behind his helmet, Aang wore an expression of annoyance. "Does EVERYONE know I'm the Avatar except for me a few days ago?!"

"Must be a popular thing," remarked Katara as she swept cooling water across Poppy's leg. "What's your husband's name?"

"Lao. Lao Bei Fong, and I'm Poppy Bei Fong." replied the woman. "And everyone knows the story of the Avatar in the wastes. It's all we hope for that he'll come and save us all. And they say that the last Airbender is the Avatar, and you can control air!"

Suddenly the ground around them exploded and Aang proclaimed, "Go!" The trio scrambled into the RV and Aang locked Poppy into a seat with a flick of his wrist and a bending of air to lock her seatbelt. The RV roared to life as she peeled out, zooming around and heading for the looming city of Ba Sing Se in the distance.

"We've got company," said Aang as he peered in the monitor that displayed a small group of Grinders on motorcycles. "Doctor T?"

"I see it," replied the distorted voice. "Activate the rear defence weapons Series Yellow."

Aang slammed his hand onto the button and from the roof, a pair of laser cannons on a swivel turret popped out and started firing at the enemy who replied in kind. Laser fire scorched the ground as Katara heaved the machine around, going much faster than a RV should. "Sabilizers are hit," she exclaimed as a readout flashed. "We need these guys off our tail now! Aang!"

"On it!" The top hatch slid open and Aang leaped out, grabbing a hold of the railing. Mustering up the fiercest winds he could manage, he blasted chunks out of the pursuers before they made it to the city limits. The great doors of Gate D opened up and an answering wall of laser fire from the side guns accompanied by benders hurling stones slammed into the remaining enemies. The RV passed into the gate and it shut with a loud clang.

Screeching to a halt, Katara exhaled sharply. "Is everyone all right?"

"I'm fine," said Aang, leaping back into the vehicle. "Mrs. Bei Fong?"

"I-I'm fine," stammered Poppy. "Please, just get me to a hospital. My leg hurts quite a bit."

"Right." Putting the RV in gear, Katara headed into the city.

*

*

"I must thank you again so profusely for saving us out there," said Lao, bowing repeatedly. "Please allow me to extend my dearest gratitude and a reward as well."

"A reward? Really? How much are we talk—URK!" Sokka glared at Katara who had elbowed him.

"Please Mr. Bei Fong, your gratitude is enough."

"No no, I insist," said Lao as he pulled out a dagger and presented it to them. "This is the symbol of our family, and I'd like to extend our gratitude along with a hundred pieces of silver."

Katara laughed a little nervously as she accepted the dagger but not the silver. "Keep your silver sir, you'll need to it to carve our a life here in Ba Sing Se," said the team leader.

"Oh but we have a place here already in the Upper Quarter," said Lao. "It is the family home. Though I do wish our daughter was here with us."

"Was she left behind in the wastes?" inquired Zuko, thinking of the tragedy that was his sister.

"No, but…. She went missing, years ago. Barely over the age of six, our dear daughter vanished during a trip to Ba Sing Se." Lao sniffled, wiping a tear away. "I do worry and hope she's safe."

"If we find anything, we'll let you know," said Aang. "We promise."

"Thank you Avatar Aang," said Lao and Aang flinched, and made a "keep it down" motion. "Oh I'm sorry. Didn't realize you wanted a low profile."

*

*

"So that's the story," said Aang. "Do you have anything on this Bei Fong family?"

Doctor T seemed to be pondering over the story, before answering, "I will look up the family register and possible social service records, but in the meantime, focus on the defence of the city. However I will be in a meeting all day, so in the event that we have an attack, contact General Iroh. He has the uplinks required for Ranger battle coordination."

With that, the screen blipped off.

"Wow," said Sokka. "Someone was short with us today."

As the Rangers headed out, a door in the far back of the building opened and a small form crept out the back way.

Aang was taking one of those walks of his around the city. While being a Ranger meant he could go anywhere, some of the people still looked at him funny once in a while. After revealing who he was, he had shaved his head revealing the long blue arrow that snaked across his bald scalp. A little bit of compromise with his clothing had yielded tan pants and a yellow shirt.

Sitting down on a park bench, he gazed out onto the kids who were playing. A lot of them were horsing around, waving sticks while other kids were playing on the equipment. However, a small form, almost smaller than he was caught his notice.

A girl with dark hair was swinging on the swing set, or rather just idly pushing herself back and forth. She was dressed in the greens and yellows of the Earth Kingdom but seemed to be a mile away.

As Aang watched, the girl twitched her fingers and the sand beneath her feet rose up an inch before dropping. 'An Earthbender!' he realized.

Walking over, he cleared his throat. "Hi, are you new here?"

The girl didn't quite look at him and replied, "No. Been here for ages."

"Er, okay. Sorry, never saw you in this playground before. I'm—"

"Aang, of the Power Rangers. I read the news." Replied the girl shortly.

"Huh? Oh um… okay. So I was just wondering…"

"If you're looking for an Earthbending teacher twinkletoes, you may as well come out and say it." The girl stood up and she didn't quite look him in the eye. "However, I'm not in the mood to teach someone and I doubt you'd want my help anyhow."

"Hey, how'd you know about me looking for one?" The girl didn't reply and instead, pulled the hood she was wearing over her head. "Hey!" exclaimed Aang, stepping around in front of her. "I said--!"

"Get a good look?" said the girl, her sightless eyes glittering back at him.

Aang's mouth worked without a sound as she made a gesture and the boy slid three feet to the side. "I don't have time for this. Gotta get back…"

It was a long time before Aang's brain caught up to what he saw. By then however, it was too late. "She… was blind?"

*

*

"So I met a girl today," said Aang over dinner and Sokka choked. Katara's fork dropped out of her hand and Zuko blinked rapidly. "She was blind but she seemed to be able to walk without a problem."

"Oh!" proclaimed Sokka, breaking the ice and everyone dissolved into nervous laughter.

"I was wondering about that," stammered Katara.

"So this girl? What'd she look like?" inquired Zuko. "Anything noteworthy other than being blind?"

"Yeah, she was an earthbender, and she wore green and yellow like most people here. But she had black hair and this hair ornament that looked really expensive." Explained Aang.

There was a choking noise from Doctor T's lab and everyone looked at it. "Sorry," said the distorted voice. "Choked on my ramen."

"Huh…" mused Zuko as he reached over to the computer console. "That's kind of odd actually."

"What is it?" inquired Katara.

"That request from the Lao guy. He wanted us to keep an eye out for his daughter. I did some checking up on the Bei Fongs. Looks like they're wealthy, even by our standards of this day and age. Their symbol is a flying boar which makes a lot of sense since the dagger he gave us has it on it. Now here's the thing: he's got one daughter, registered but records show no name for her right now."

"That's weird. Why would there be a registration for a daughter but no name?" wondered Katara.

"In Earth Kingdom culture, if a family member is being sheltered due to disability, the name would not be released to the general public," pointed out Doctor T. "The Bei Fongs were staunch supporters of the war against the Azulon forces, making them a target. And with the computer systems taken over…."

"It would make the girl a giant target," surmised Sokka. "That's all well and good but why would a noble girl, even one sheltered like that know Earthbending if this girl really is blind?"

"That I don't know. Maybe family tradition or stubbornness," said Zuko. "All I came up with was that during a trip nearly six years ago, she vanished into Ba Sing Se. The officials were in an uproar, and the Bei Fong's spent enormous amounts of silver and gold to find her. In the end, she was declared missing."

"Poor girl," mused Katara. "Being lost at that age, alone in Ba Sing Se. No one or no way to verify she was of noble blood."

"The chances of her survival in Ba Sing Se are quite good," pointed out Doctor T. "However, there is no guarantee this percentage of chance has fallen with this girl."

Aang got up. "I'm going out. I need to find that girl again."

"Wait hold on Aang, this is a wild goose-rabbit chase. You can't just run around and hope to find the kid," protested Sokka.

"It's not that. If she knows Earthbending then there's a teacher who can teach me. Roku said I needed to learn all four elements and I've already mastered Air." Aang grinned. "Don't worry about me; I'll keep the morpher on at all times."

"It's not like you can turn it off!" called out Sokka after Aang departed.

*

*

Aang didn't come back that night, having searched around town for it. Finally, he collapsed on a bench and fell asleep. However, that morning, the small female figure appeared in front of him. Clucked her tongue and grunted "Stupid twinkletoes," before doffing her cloak and draping it around him.

Turning to leave, she blinked as a hand came up around her wrist. "Gotcha," grinned Aang, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Found you at least. I knew I'd do it too."

"Let go," said the girl. "I gave you my cloak cause it got cold."

"First, you gotta tell me something. Where'd you learn how to bend?"

"If I tell you, will you leave me alone?" retorted the girl.

"All right."

"You promise?"

"Word of the Avatar," said Aang.

"…. Badger moles."

Aang stared, blinking rapidly. "Wot?"

"I told you," said the girl as she shook Aang's hand away. "Now leave me alone!"

As the girl fled, Aang shook off his surprise and chased after her with a cry of "Wait! That's not the answer I was looking for!"

Across roads and over buildings the pair scrambled, the girl displaying incredible feats of earthbending to propel her further away. Aang was forced to pick up the pace by creating a scooter of air and he rode it after the girl who was trying to lose him.

After a good merry chase that took the pair across town, the girl dropped between a pair of tall buildings and Aang rounded the corner just in time to see a door that was closing with a seamless click.

Thrusting air forward, he wedged the door open and with a grunt, squeezed through before stumbling into the building. The door shut on itself and he panted before looking up.

"Caught… you…?"

Familiar blue and green lights hummed as five display cases showcased the Ranger suits they wore. Aang crept into the room, touching the display cases before almost knocking over a large device. "What the…? Did the girl really run in…?"

A thump alerted him to someone behind a wall and Doctor T's screens flickered to life. "What are you doing in here?" demanded the distorted voice.

"Er, I was… wait…" Aang stared at the screen and then looked at the Ranger cases. "Doctor T? Is this where you're broadcasting from?"

"No. Now go away."

Aang shook his head. "I don't think so. I mean, we're always wondering where you are and this place seems so familiar…"

"I'm telling you don't poke around my lab." There was a wail of feedback and Doctor T cursed. "Series Yellow do not open any doors!"

:"Like this one?" Aang poked a button and a door slid open to reveal said the girl who was wearing a headset. She scrambled for the button to close it but Aang held the door fast.

"Ignore that girl behind the curtain!" she demanded. "These aren't the Ranger suits you are looking for!"

Aang stared. Stared some more. And then girl finally groaned, moved the microphone away from her mouth an said, "What? You expected me to be taller?"

Aang found his voice. "Y-you're… Doctor T? The one who made all of this. The one who we've been fighting with for the last month and a half or more? YOU?"

"You were expecting someone older I assure you," grumbled Doctor T as she stepped out into the open, doffing her headset. "Now that my secret is blown, I may as well tell the rest of the team."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a moment," said Aang. "Let me get this straight. You. Are Doctor T."

"Yes that is correct," replied Doctor T. "And you're Avatar Aang, Series Yellow Operator, your favourite food is custard pie and you have a brilliant aversion to meat."

"I know THAT," groused Aang. "I just… well…"

"Say it."

"…. Blind?"

Doctor T snorted. "Yes."

"Really?"

"YES."

"And you earthbend. And make technology?"

"Yes and yes. Now do you mind Series Yellow? I have business to attend to."

As Doctor T brushed past Aang, he realized his life just got infinitely weirder.

*

*

"You're Doctor T." Said Sokka.

"Yes."

"Seriously?" inquired Zuko.

"That is correct."

"And you have revealed yourself to us… why?" inquired Katara.

"Series Yellow was insistent on following me. He found his way into my back room in which he disregarded my commands and opened my door." Doctor T wore a dissatisfied expression on her face. "Regardless, the results of this will most likely make it impossible for anyone else to take me seriously from now on."

"… blind?" said Suki.

"YES I AM BLIND!" exploded Doctor T, waggling a hand in front of her face. "Any MORE blind questions you want to ask?!"

"Calm down everyone," soothed Iroh. "Have some tea first of all. Now then, Doctor T, it is a valuable service you have provided us. I would just like to ask one simple question: why do you do this for us?"

"Really quite simple," replied Doctor T. "I do it because it's the only thing I know other than earthbending."

"You said you learned it from Badger Moles. Was that true?" inquired Aang.

"I did," said Doctor T. "The only thing I remember as a child was being lost in the mountains outside what I presume to be my former home. The Badger Moles came and taught me how to bend, and thus I escaped. Shortly afterwards I was kidnapped and taken to a secret facility codenamed Alphabet Soup."

"Whoa whoa, a secret facility? Where?" exclaimed Sokka.

"In a facility deep beneath Lake Laogai," said Doctor T. "When I escaped, I managed to bring along with me two more children who I had grown up with. However we were separated when a Azulon attack force swooped down upon the Lake. I was the only one who made it to the surface, let alone to Ba Sing Se."

"To think there was a group like that close to our city," mused the general. "These are dark times."

"Maybe. But my priority right now is to utilize the Ranger biotech in order to defeat the Azulon forces. Series Yellow, have you been able to get any more data from that disk provided to you by Avatar Roku?"

"A little," replied Aang. "it's hard to understand, but maybe if you read it with me now…"

"Very well. Series—" A warning alarm rang and she scowled before darting to the computers. A panel slid out and she fitted a virtual headset to her head before typing rapidly. "Shield breach in sector 17-A. Rangers, you are a go for interception."

"On it." Katara and the others rushed out, vehicles peeling out as Suki and Iroh were left with Doctor T, the young girl's hands dancing across the keyboard.

"Now I get why the keyboards are all in Braille," remarked Suki. "General?"

"I have called for a pick up transport. We will head to the command post immediately." Raising his voice, he added, "Doctor T, we entrust this to you."

"Affirmative," replied Doctor T, working as quickly as possible.

*

*

"The girl is alive…"

"Yes sir," replied one of the Dai Li agents. "One of our men in the command tower has reported that Doctor T is indeed one of the children from the Alphabet Soup project."

Long Feng struck the table angrily, though careful not to break the new one. "How could this have slipped my mind? If she goes to the Earth King, all of my plans will be for naught!"

"Do you want us to take care of her sir?" inquired another agent.

"No… leave her alone for now. The reclusive Doctor T will have to come into the light sooner or later. We'll let the rest of the city decide if they want to leave their fate in the hands of a CHILD."

"In fact… I think an opportunity just arose I could use…"

*

*

"… I told you get out!" roared Doctor T as the Rangers returned from their battle, and Sokka was hard-pressed to duck a flying piece of wood.

"Whoa, what set her off?" exclaimed Sokka.

Peeking inside, the four were privy to a seething Doctor T and two of the refugees, Poppy and Lao Bei Fong. "Be reasonable dear, we just want what's best for you!" exclaimed Poppy in a pleading voice.

"I said get out," snapped Doctor T. "You two never came to look for me! And even BEFORE then you locked me up like I was a delicate flower made of glass!"

"But you're our daughter and we love you! You're just, well…!" protested Lao.

"What, BLIND? Of course I am! But it doesn't mean I'm unwilling to deal with it!" yelled Doctor T. "Why did you, or rather HOW did you find me?"

The parents exchanged glances. "Well um, Long Feng told us. You see, when he found out that our daughter was here, alive and working for these people…"

"I don't WORK for them they work for ME. And for the record? I hate Long Feng. The guy's a two-headed cobra-scorpion with the niceties of a—"

"That's quite enough young lady," snapped Poppy. "Please, be reasonable. We want what's best for you and that doesn't mean we need you to stop helping people."

"It means however that as your parents, we've already announced our plans. You remember that nice young man we introduced you to at six right?" said Lao placatingly.

Doctor T's expression fell. "Oh wot? NO. NO! I refuse!"

"That's right," said Lao. "We need to continue the family. And what better way than to hold a wedding?"


	10. Chapter 10: Ranger Green Part 2

Ranger Green Part 2

*

*

"So…"

WHUD

"You think…"

CRUNCH

"That maybe…"

SLAM

"Your parents…"

WHOCK THUD WHUMP

"Might have a tiny…"

WHOMP

"Point?"

"No," said Doctor T, flipping her hair out of the way as Aang tried to stumble to his feet from the vicious Earthbending she had "graciously" offered to teach him. So far however, all Aang had learned was how to get hurt and try to survive the vicious beating.

"Cause you know, they ARE worried about you."

"Worried enough that they took Long Feng's advice and continued that damn betrothal from years ago," groused Doctor T as she drove Aang into the ground, leaving his head sticking out of it. The boy struggled but she didn't pull him back up.

"I don't get it Doctor T, why now?" inquired Sokka. "They're obviously still well off…"

"Money," said Zuko. "And power and status. Even in this day and age, we're still marrying people off for that."

"Yeah. I wouldn't want to get caught up in one of those," said Katara, agreeing wholeheartedly with Doctor T's frustration.

"I don't really get it, but can you get me out of this Doctor T?" inquired Aang. In a rumble of earth, Aang was propelled out of the hole and he slumped over like a fish. "Thanks."

"Hey Doc, don't mean to bug some more but gotta question for you," said Sokka. "Why don't you wear shoes?"

"Don't like them, and they dull my senses," replied Doctor T shortly. "Besides, it drives my parents insane."

A beeping emitted from a device on Doctor T's hand and she laid a hand on it. "Shield breach," she reported after interpreting the signal.

"Of course it is," sighed Sokka tiredly. "Just once I'd like it to be a bird hitting the dome."

"Sector 19-B, Upper Level," said Doctor T, ignoring Sokka's comment. "Highly populated wealthy area. Move the fight out into 18-D or the people in 19-B will throw a fit."

"Got it. Lets go guys." As the Rangers took off in their vehicles, Doctor T went over to the bench, picking up her drink. Sipping down a little of it, she headed out back towards the garage. Her Rangers needed her expertise and there was little she could do while outside.

*

*

"Kite it," exclaimed Katara as Sokka rammed the Moose-Lion into the giant attack bot. "Sokka, do you know what KITE even means?"

"Sure I do, but it's not following me," replied Sokka as he pulled the zord backwards. "Whoop, and there goes a fountain."

"Can we at least form up? I think we'd do less DAMAGE if we were working together," groused Zuko, making another circle and peppering the opponent with lasers.

"Not enough room," replied Katara. "Look at all of that stuff down there."

"And it refuses to move," grumbled Sokka. "Plan B?"

"Plan B," agreed Aang. "Deploying cables."

Five cables shot from the front paws of the Bison zord and the machine struggled to get free. "Pulling."

Slowly, it was dragged upwards into the air as Aang moved the attack bot. "Repositioning complete. Let em have it guys."

"A.D.S. Megazord, form up," commanded Katara and the zords locked together. "Horn Saber!"

In a thunderous explosion, the attack bot was blown up and the Rangers heaved a sigh. "That was the most difficult battle ever," groaned Aang. "Just cause we're tying to move it away."

"How much damage are we looking at?" inquired Katara.

"Not much. A few trees, a fountain, and some guy's roof," reported Zuko. "Oh, and that pile of Grinders will need to be swept up."

"That's for city guys to take care of," said Sokka. "Lets get out of these things and get back to our cars. I left mine double-parked."

"Smooth," snickered Katara as the zords were recalled. Landing with a soft thump, a voice called out to her.

"Katara!" Looking up, a breathless Poppy was running up. "Katara, good timing. I was hoping you could help me with something?"

"Dwah?" inquired Katara. "Like what?"

"Just come with me!" with a yelp, Katara was dragged off by the enthusiastic woman with the boys staring at her.

"Do… you think she needs help?" said Aang slowly and Zuko and Sokka chorused "No."

*

*

"I've brought the bridesmaid!" exclaimed Poppy as she ran up with Katara, the latter still dizzy and morphed.

The woman at the front examined the girl who was still panting. "Hmm… a little skinny," she said, encircling Katara who blinked under her helmet. "Take off that ridiculous helmet child, I cannot see your face."

"Er… all right? Standby." In a flash of light, her helmet vanished and the dressmaker sniffed.

"What will they come up with in these days of fashion?" snorted the dressmaker as she started measuring Katara who was completely bewildered at the turn of events.

"Oh no, it's not meant for fashion it's a battle uniform," replied Katara lamely.

"Obviously. No taste. Arms up!"

Katara obediently did so as she asked, "Mrs. Bei Fong?"

"Please call my Poppy," replied Doctor T's mother.

"Er, Poppy? What's with this?"

"Oh, well one of the brides maids fell ill and I was so hoping that my daughter would have a friend on the roster. Is that all right?"

"Er, I guess its okay for me but Doctor T doesn't really like the idea behind this," replied Katara as her legs were nudged open for more measurements.

"Oh pish I'm sure she'll agree to it soon. And my daughter has a name other than Doctor T. It's—"

The woman was cut off by Katara's morpher ringing and she blushed. "One moment," she said, opening it. "Yes?"

"Series Blue. Is there any reason why you're STILL in uniform?"

"Um… you'll have to as your mother. Hold please." Katara held the morpher out to Poppy. "it's for you."

"Daughter?" Poppy's expression lit up. "Oh I CAN talk to you! My, isn't this convenient."

"Mother, what is the meaning of this? Why have you kidnapped one of my Rangers?"

"Oh pish, she's not kidnapped. She's just getting a dress fitted."

"For what?"

"For your wedding of course! She's going to be a bridesmaid!"

"Mother I am NOT getting married!"

"Now that's quite enough of that young lady," said the Bei Fong matriarch sternly. "We decided on this marriage years ago."

"I don't love that fop!"

"Of course you don't; if you did then you wouldn't be protesting so much would you?"

"AUGH!" With a beep, Doctor T hung up and Poppy blinked before handing the morpher back to Katara.

"She's quite feisty."

"I noticed," replied Katara as the seamstress handed her a dress.

*

*

"Get out of here! Go!"

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine. Just keep going and don't look back!"

"Wait, the Series Gold and Silver!"

"Wait, NO STOP!"

"Doctor T?"

Doctor T snapped awake as Zuko rapped at her little cubby-hole of an office. "Sorry to bother you but your parents are here."

"… fine. Give me a moment." Zuko nodded and left the Doctor who rubbed her eyes of sleep, despite not really caring what she looked like at the moment.

Walking out, she yawned and muttered, "This better be good."

"Dear you're a mess!" exclaimed her mother, fussing over her appearance. "Your hair hasn't even been combed or washed or your clothing changed…!"

"I was ASLEEP," groused Doctor T. "What do you want mother, father?"

"We just wanted to swing by and introduce you to your fiancé," replied her father, stepping aside to reveal a tall Water Tribe teen with flashing teeth and a self-assured smile. "Hahn, you remember our daughter?"

"Yes, I remember her," replied Hahn.

"Fantastic. Can I get back to my nap now? I've spent the last ten hours reprogramming Series Black's biohardware for a new power." Deadpanned Doctor T.

"I'm afraid family comes first daughter," said Lao sternly. "You should know this as a Bei Fong. We have a duty to the people."

"And that duty includes marrying off your daughter who you haven't seen for nearly six years? PASS."

"Dear be reasonable," pleaded Poppy. "All we're asking is for you to go through with this."

"And why should I?" demanded Doctor T.

"Because we love you. We never stopped searching for you." Said Lao.

"And you know where I was? I was stuck, trapped deep beneath Lake Laogai in a facility, being forced to develop technology that would save or break the world. Ever think about how a certified supergenius with the skills to make Ranger tech would make a delicate little flower of a wife?" snapped Doctor T.

"Just please, consider it," pleaded Poppy. "Please? For us?"

Doctor T was silent with her back turned to the others. Finally, she said, "One try. If it doesn't work, all bets are off."

Poppy squealed and hugged her daughter who tried not to think about how good it felt being hugged again by a loving mother.

*

*

"Look at this place," stated Sokka as he gazed around the large cathedral. "When did they dig up the money for this kind of shindig?"

"Most likely as a favour from the husband's family," remarked Zuko.

"It's beautiful though. I wonder how they maintain such an ice structure in Ba Sing Se's temperature?" wondered Aang.

"Dunno. Hey has anyone seen Katara?" wondered Sokka.

Katara indeed was gone and the girl had headed off with the bridal party. Opening the door to Doctor T's room, she asked, "Doctor T?"

"I'm here."

Katara opened the door fully and gasped. "Wow… you look wonderful!"

"Everyone says that," replied Doctor T as she was dressed in a gorgeous kimono of greens and whites with a elaborate train behind her. Her blank eyes were accented by makeup that did not detract from her natural beauty. "I wouldn't know, y'know?" And she waggled a hand in front of her face. Katara DID notice that she was barefoot.

Closing the door, she cleared her throat. "If there's anything I can do for you…" said Katara. "You know… as a friend?"

"Wanna trade places and get married to Hahn?" inquired Doctor T hopefully.

"EEW! No."

"Pity." Doctor T sighed. "There goes my idea for the ol' bridal switcharoo."

A knock at the door alerted the pair. "Hey Katara, you in there?" called out Sokka.

"Don't even think of coming in!" snapped Katara. "It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!"

"Doesn't that just apply to the groom?" inquired Zuko behind the door.

"Er… come in and I'll kick all of your butts! I'm half-naked!" There was a sound of something hitting the door and a yelp of "Aang?!" before Katara groaned.

"Boys. Can't live with them, can't sell em for spare parts."

"I know at least one person who'd want Sokka's spare parts," replied Doctor T dryly and Katara stifled a snicker. "But actually, there IS something you can do for me…"

*

*

Aang tugged at his formal robes. "Quit tugging at it, you'll wreck the collar," hissed Sokka. "It's a rental."

"It's tight," said Aang, fidgeting.

"Sorry I'm late," whispered Katara, sliding in next to them. She was dressed in a powder blue "modern-style" dress and added, "I had to get something for Doctor T."

"No prob, you haven't missed much," whispered back Sokka. Aang nodded and Zuko glanced at the girl out of the corner of his eye.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the bridal procession?" inquired Zuko who looked dashing in his formal red robes.

"Change in plan," whispered Katara. "By the way, we need to go. Like stat."

"Attack?" whispered Aang, trying not to focus on how good Katara looked in that outfit.

"Yeah. Doctor T noticed it crop up before the procession began. C'mon, hustle." Shooing the boys out, they ran out the door of the cathedral and almost right into a pack of Grinders.

"Looking good Zuxu," sneered Azula. "Are you getting married?"

"No," replied Zuko. "Don't you know its bad form to crash a wedding? Ready!"

"A.D.S. MAX DRIVE!" chorused the four and in a blast of light, was in the thick of the opponents.

*

*

"Mwawwage is a saqwed thing," drawled the toothless old priest. "Mwawwage…"

People screamed as Series Red was booted through the window. Rolling to his feet, he proclaimed, "Carry on!" before diving back through the window.

"Mwawwage is the most howy of matrimonies… cuwimilating with the Swun wand the Mowwwn…"

This time Series Yellow was blown through the doors, only to scramble up, blocked off the doors, bowed to the crowd and dove through the busted window.

"And in the pweesce owf the Gweat Swpiwits…"

"Oh god window!" proclaimed Series Black who rolled to his feet, pulled a gun and started firing through it before scrambling ungainly through said battered window.

"We swand togethwar, to bwing Dwoctor T—"

"YIPE!" exclaimed Series Blue, falling through the ceiling. "C-carry on," she managed, leaping up through the ceiling.

"And Hawhn owf the Water Twibe togethwar. Twhose who spweak against Mwawwage swpwak now."

"Yeah, I do." Said Doctor T, startling everyone.

"Dear, please!" Protested Poppy.

"Be reasonable!" protested Lao but Doctor T held up a hand sharply.

"Mother, father, I appreciate your attempts and resuming our lives. But we are different people now. And this person needs to fly."

In a deft move, Doctor T slid her wrist up, revealing a yellow and black wrist-mounted morpher. "I've got something to take care of."

Pulling her train off, she marched boldly down the asile and pulled out an Engine Cell. Reaching the doors, she kicked them open with a cry of "A.D.S. MAX DRIVE! HEY GIRLY GIRL! TRY ME ON!"

Azula had little time to move as Doctor T bent the ground around her, sending her flying fifty feet into water.

Doctor T folded her arms and there was a smirk in her voice. "Any other questions?"

*

*

"That was pretty awesome Doctor T," said Sokka that evening. The five were sitting around their table, working on a pizza, half of it vegetarian for Aang.

"I built it, I can use it too," replied Doctor T flippantly, reaching for another slice.

"What I don't get is why you were holding out on us with Series Green," said Zuko. "Wouldn't it have been easier than looking for candidates?"

"I needed to make a point," shrugged Doctor T.

The doorbell rang and Aang jumped up. "Doorbell!" Scampering over, he opened the door. "Oh, hi."

"Hello Aang, can we speak with our daughter please?" inquired Lao.

"You can say whatever you want in front of my people," said Doctor T.

Her parents stood before them, worried for a long moment before Lao started. "First off, I apologize, WE apologize for trying to force you into a marriage. It's true we were trying to get some of our old status back and we sincerely apologize for it."

"Secondly, um… we wanted to let you know that you are a wonderful daughter," said Poppy. "And you handled yourself quite well. I think you would have made our ancestors proud. Please, take this."

Handing Doctor T a piece of paper, she opened it up and ran her fingers. Her eyes widened and Lao said, "It's our gift to you. Please, call us any time. Good evening to you all."

As they left, Sokka sighed. "Nothing like a little family reunion to finally go right."

"That makes one of us," groused Zuko.

"What's it say?" inquired Katara as Doctor T got up. "Doctor T?"

"That they're proud of me. And the never stopped loving me." Doctor T paused at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, and one last thing. Toph. That's my name."


	11. Chapter 11: The Road to Corinth

The Road to Corinth

*

*

"Azula 4, status report." Ordered the tall pillar in the center of the room.

"Everything is going as planned," reported Azula as she rose from her kneeling position. "Our man on the inside has given us valuable information on the status of the new tank weapons that are being produced by the city, and the location of any and all of their prototypes. He also brings word of the new expansion that they are planning on, moving forces into the surrounding area to reclaim it from our troops for mining and forestry purposes."

"Excellent work Azula 4. General Zhao, I require a new attack bot for this mission."

"I have just the one sir," said Zhao as the crane arm moved into position. "I have been working on it for just such an occasion. Behold!"

A tall bronze-skinned machine with a humanoid appearance was pulled out of the depths and settled down. Three eyes appeared on the front, opening up. "The generation 13 attack bot is ready for combat."

"Excellent!" praised Azulon, the machine whirring to life. "Send an attack squadron as soon as you gain entry. I do not want the Rangers interfering with these plans."

"About the rangers milord," interjected Ozai. "What about the failure? He consistently plans to be a thorn in our side."

"Indeed. Perhaps now it is time to show him who is true master is. Azula 4: I entrust the activation codes to you." A beam of light shot out and touched a gemstone on the girl's armor and she smiled.

"Thank you master, I will do my best to show him what it means to flee our grasp."

*

*

"Subject Ranger Series Black begin the startup sequence." Commanded Doctor Toph as Sokka shook out his arms.

"All right, here we go." Powering back to full combat status, he held up a key and his Engine Cell Morpher. "Beginning test run of the A.D.S. System."

Slotting the key into the device, he twisted it. Power started to build up as Zuko monitored the output.

"Energy levels at 100%, now building to 110."

"Increase is stable," reported Katara from her end. "Start up with the first element Sokka."

"Right. Stage One, activate." Sweeping his hands around, water from a pot moved and Sokka strained.

"Be a little more gentle Sokka," warned Aang, his coach in the movement. "Follow the steps we showed you."

"Trying…" grunted the Ranger. "Almost got it…"

"Pressure building to 115. He's starting to increase the bio-output," reported Zuko.

"Energy levels risen to 117. Bending commencing," reported Katara as the water ripped itself free of the pot as Sokka swirled it around. "Bending of Water element confirmed. Maintain this for 10 more seconds Sokka."

"No prob," grunted Sokka as his chi was forced to do things it wasn't supposed to. He spun the water around before letting it settle around his hands.

"He's stabilized at 120." Reported Zuko. "Doctor Toph?"

"Hold the water there Sokka, we're continuing with the next element. Begin test. Increasing maximum output to 140% threshold." Said Doctor Toph.

"Bending output is now at 121. Sokka, start pulling the samples up." Said Katara.

Switching stances from the Water style to the Earth Style, Sokka pulled upwards at the small stone that sat in front of them. Rapid beeping emitted from the monitors and Zuko proclaimed, "123! Pressure has risen."

"Keep going Sokka, it's almost there! I can feel it!" exclaimed Aang.

"130. 133. 137. Output achieved at 140!" reported Katara as Sokka managed to heave the stone up over his head with bending. "Output is stable at 140 and holding Doctor Toph."

"Excellent," grinned Toph before she switched the third sequence on. "Series Black, begin the third test."

Flames gushed from a nearby flamethrower and Sokka sweat under his helmet. "Is the third test really needed?" he asked, trying to maintain the water from splashing everywhere and the rock from falling on his head.

"Suck it up you big baby," snorted Doctor Toph. "It's perfectly safe!"

"Increasing output to 180," stated Zuko. "For the record? This is pretty good so far."

"All right Sokka, just move the fire with you. You don't need to generate it yet," instructed Aang.

"I'm trying but some of this is really getting difficult!" exclaimed Sokka.

Katara's monitor wailed. "Series Black's energy levels are spiking! Pressure increased to 220."

"Abort Sokka!" yelled Toph but suddenly, the water exploded everywhere and Sokka was struck on the head. The monitors whined and then started to beep normally as the Black Ranger sat up from where he was thrown from the reaction. "Dang! That was so close too!"

"What did the readout say?" inquired Katara.

"220 with a 167 increase," replied Zuko. "Considering that Sokka's not even a bender, that's a LOT of energy moving in his body."

"Maybe we should stop for now," said Aang. "This is a lot of strain on a normal human body."

"Agreed. Series Black, get some rest and some food. We'll start again in 2 hours after I recalibrate the system." Said Toph before she retreated into her back room.

Sokka groaned.

*

*

"I'm telling you she's out to get me," said Sokka, popping the top of a soda can with a loud hiss.

"Sokka she's just trying to make sure this new ability works," said Katara. "And we're all there with you to make sure it does."

"I've got my misgivings about the whole thing especially when its supposed to emulate Aang's little glowy-head-and-eyes trick," grunted Sokka. "It's not like I want to be an avatar and the powers are cool and all…"

"It's the best chance we've got," replied Zuko as he stuck his head in the fridge. "Considering the step up in generation technology of the Azulon forces, it'll be a matter of time before they outpace even the zords."

"And for once, I won't feel really special," added Aang with a grin, rubbing the back of his head. "Everyone from the outside always looks at me and chimes "avatar" and that's really making me feel uncomfortable."

"Well I suppose it's worth a shot," grunted Sokka. "And what could possibly go wrong with it anyhow?"

"You need to ask?" replied Katara. "A million things can go wrong."

Sokka shrugged. "Whatever. It's not like I really want to be a bender anyhow."

Getting up, he tossed his soda into the trash. "I'm going out for a bit. Hold the fort okay?"

Watching him go, Aang got up. "I'm going with him, just to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

*

*

"It's not like you to be all mopey," said Aang as the pair walked down a random street in Ba Sing Se. "What's up?"

"I just feel like a third wheel sometimes," said Sokka as the pair turned the corner onto the mid-level shopping district. "You know, like how responsibility is on my head but then people are trying to replace me for the bigger badder me."

"What do you mean?" inquired Aang. "No one can replace you in the battlefield."

"You're the Avatar," replied Sokka. "Not too many people know about it here in the city but out there, you're a big deal. And now this Avatar Drive State program is supposed to make ME into one. I don't know if I'm willing to step into those shoes."

"Being the Avatar isn't fun at all," replied Aang sourly. "I ran from my duties a hundred years ago and now I'm here, fighting as a Ranger which gives me equal footing. I haven't begun to learn waterbending let alone fire or earth. Doctor T, er, Toph said that I can learn from her, but in the end I worry about what's going to happen to me when my job is done."

"Balance to the world huh?" Aang nodded and Sokka patted his friend on the shoulder. "I know buddy, I know."

"I also worry sometimes about how things have changed so radically since I was born," added Aang, looking into a storefront window and gazing at the televisions on display. "Back when I was little, the Air Nomads had little use for technology despite the rapid advancement of it. It started with the Fire Nation as Avatar Roku was known to be a brilliant scientist. He alone pioneered many of the technologies we enjoy today. And at the same time he spent years perfecting the bending styles of all four nations. The Avatar Roku we all hear about was this great man, and there is little that I can admit to to be the same as him."

"But you're NOT the same as him," reminded Sokka. "You're the Avatar, but most importantly you're Aang. You're not Avatar Roku or Avatar Kiyoshi or any of those Avatars that came before. You are who you are, and even if you feel like the world's outpaced you, you just need to remind yourself that your role is to do what you feel is right to restore balance. And we're here with you buddy."

Aang nodded, smiling. "You're pretty good at speeches Sokka."

"Me? Heck no, I just say what's on my mind. And it usually results in Katara hitting me." Sokka shrugged. "Hey look, lets get a burger and we'll—"

The Engine Cell Morpher decided to chime that moment and Sokka's expression fell. "My bad."

"Hello?"

"Series Yellow, Series Blue. Where have you two been?" snapped Doctor Toph on the other end.

"Walking."

"Well make your way to Sector 4-F. There's a situation."

"4-F? That's a military instillation," said Sokka, eyes narrowing. "We're on our way."

*

*

"Sorry we're late," called out Sokka as he kicked a Grinder away. Aang blasted another three with air, scattering them like pins. "What'd we miss?"

Katara and Zuko winced as a blast rocketed over their heads from the attack bot. "Well, we were doing fine until the new attack bot showed up," replied Zuko testily. "Uncle held it off and he and his men retreated."

"And why are we hiding behind a flipped car?" inquired Sokka as another blast threw a tank high into the air. The group scattered and it crashed to the ground. "Oh. I get it."

"We could definitely use some earthbending in this fight," said Katara as another blast rocked the ground around them. "But as it stands, Doctor T's picking up a signal that she's tracing right now."

"Gee that's too bad," grumbled Sokka as he and Aang suited up. "Aang hit him high. I'll get him low."

The attack bot turned a bit too late as a blast of wind slammed into its head and Sokka swept his weapon, cutting across its legs. Despite this, the attack bot fired point blank at Sokka from its third eye and Sokka hefted his weapon, blocking it. Driven backwards, he remarked, "Man what is this thing made of?"

Yelping, the Black Ranger ducked behind another ruined car as it let off another blast of focused fire. "I can see why we're sniping him," he remarked to Zuko. "Hi."

"Doctor T's checking the signal. It seems to be on a frequency interrupt bandwidth," replied Zuko. "In short, it's got a shifting shield that makes it mostly immune to our attacks."

"Just when we thought this couldn't get any worse." Grumbled Sokka.

"Cover me Aang," said Katara and Aang conjoured up a smokescreen. Pulling water from the nearby shattered pipes, Katara hurled it at the robot in a cutting motion. It sliced through the left arm and the attack bot fired back, making the girl to dive to the side.

"You know I think Sparky Sparky Boom Man is unhappy," remarked Sokka as another three blasts impacted, making the car they were hiding behind explode. Thrown backwards, Sokka and Zuko scrambled to their feet.

"I think your nickname angered him," replied Zuko as he fired blast after blast of fire which was met with repeated staggered blasts of fire.

"What about Combustion Man?" inquired Sokka who blocked another shot with the flat end of his horn weapon.

"Now's not the time to be thinking of nicknames for the killer robot who wants to smite us all!" exclaimed Katara. Suddenly she let out a yell of pain as Combustion Man's attack slammed into her, throwing the Ranger twelve feet away.

"KATARA!" Aang let out a ferocious yell as he mustered up the strongest wind possible and launched it at Combustion Man. The attack bot leaped backwards and continued to fire at Aang who used wind to catapult himself after the opponent.

Katara groaned as she tried to stand up and a booted foot came down, preventing her from doing so. "Hello," smirked Azula. Her fingertips crackled. "Goodbye Ranger Blue."

"AZULA!" Azula reacted immediately, the blast of lightning striking Zuko full on and he was thrown backwards into a pile of crates. The momentary distraction allowed Katara to push Azula's foot off and she swept back to her feet, a little shaky.

Azula hopped backwards as the girl attacked her. Fire and water slammed against each other and she smirked. "My, such concern for him. Do you like him?"

"Wha?" Distracted, Azula kicked out, throwing Katara backwards. Raising her fingers that crackled with lightning, she prepared to launch another blast. But suddenly, Combustion Man slammed into her and the pair were knocked to the ground.

"Leave. Them. ALONE!" Aang growled. The markings on his suit began to glow and beneath his helm, his eyes glowed. A blast of air slammed into the pair, knocking them several more meters. Combustion Man took the brunt of the attack as the winds sheared into it, leaving nothing more than its head. "I said LEAVE!" commanded Aang angrily.

"Hmm… so you do have that power," smirked Azula before she vanished in a shimmer of light.

The glow dying out, Aang lowered himself to the ground as Katara groaned. Rushing to her side, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, just a little shook up." Replied Katara. "Wait, Zuko!"

Running over, Sokka was already at his side. "How is he?"

"Not good. We need to get him into a hospital asap," replied Sokka.

*

*

"He'll be all right," said Sokka as he walked out of the room where Zuko was placed into. "Doc says he needs to rest up a bit."

"That's a relief," sighed Katara, her arm in a sling. Aang had a downcast expression.

"However there's something else," said Sokka. "I don't think even he knew this but when they took X-Rays, they found something about Zuko."

"What sort of things?" asked Aang.

"There's Azulon tech in his body. Generation Seven at least." Sokka hung his head. "And it's active somehow. Somehow we missed this completely."

"So what, he's a machine?" gasped Aang.

"No, a cyborg. He's like half and half, but the machinery's started to work on him." Sokka sighed. "Doctor T's working on the solution but right now…"

The trio fell into silence. And then Katara said, "I never knew."

"None of us did. And that's what's so hard right now." Replied Sokka.

"I feel like I need to do something about this," said Aang. "As the Avatar…"

"No offense Aang but as the Avatar, you can't just magically wave your hand and wish the tech away." Said Sokka.

Aang nodded. "I know." Getting up he added, "I'm going for a walk. Call me if the situation worsens."

*

*

Wandering through Ba Sing Se had become something of a past-time for Aang as the bustling streets often gave him time to think things through. Aimlessly wandering often allowed him to get his footsteps into the hard rock and stone that made up the city, and the sky above was always blue due to the climate controls.

Sighing, he rounded the corner and stopped. "Huh, is that…?"

Pushing the door of the shop open, his expression lit up. "It is! It's my favourite candy store! But what's it doing here in Ba Sing Se?"

Browsing the layout of the store, Aang found himself enthralled by the sweets that presented him. Fire Flakes, Air Nomad taffy, Water Spring Salt Candy, the list went on and on. Pressing his face up to a particularly familiar display of rock candy, a voice cut into his thoughts. "Try the rock candy kiddo, it'll sweeten your disposition on life."

Aang looked up into the face of a wizened old man who held out a large chunk of Rock Candy. "For me?" inquired Aang and the man nodded, grinning widely with a mouth full of missing teeth here and there. "Uh… sure I guess."

"Be happy kiddo, I got the proprietor here all the way from Omashu," said the man, chomping noisily on the candy. "In fact," he added thickly, "the owner retired and left me in charge of this place since I loved it so much as a kid."

"Retired? He must be older than you!" exclaimed Aang and then he realized what he said. "Er, that is not to say that you're old sir…"

"Old?" demanded the man and then he relented. "Okay, I'm old. But old enough to poke you in the right direction you whipper snapper! What would Kuzon think if his old friend was moping about like some silly schoolgirl?"

Aang's head shot up in surprise. "You know Kuzon? Who are you?"

The elderly man chuckle-snorted. "Don't tell me you've forgotten? Always look under the meaning of everything Aang."

"Look under the meaning…" Aang's expression lit up. "You mad genius you know who I am!"

The pair shared a hug and Bumi chuckled. "Oh Aang, you haven't changed a bit. Literally! I WAS going to test you when you arrived but since you've gone through so much today I figured you needed a break this time. So I intercepted the Candy Store Owner and had him open up even though its his day off."

"How'd you know I'd be in the area?" inquired Aang curiously as he picked up a piece of Air Nomad Taffy and chewed on it. "I don't usually tell people where I'm going on my walk."

"You forget you have friends in high places. Quite literally actually since your little friend Toph keeps tabs on all of you. She just radioed me in; handy little contraption. I wish I had more of that in my day." Replied Bumi. "She also told us about the problem you kids are having with the Fire Nation prince."

"Yeah," nodded Aang. "We never knew he had machinery in him. Sounds scary now that I think about it."

"In hindsight we should have scanned him as well," admitted Bumi. "But of course we're never really looking at that possibility. At least not until now."

Chomping noisily on the candy he held, Bumi added, "There's a place you may want to visit Aang. It's the facility Avatar Roku frequented when he was learning Earthbending here in the Earth Kingdom from a man named Sud, or Master Sud as you will. Despite his raw talent in Earthbending and other forms of bending, Avatar Roku was a genius, constantly improving the quality of life wherever he went. This facility might hold some answers you seek about how the world had changed under his guidance."

"And you think that there might be a clue to reversing the machinery in Zuko's body?" inquired Aang.

Bumi shrugged. "Who knows? There's a lot we don't know about Azulon and why it spread so quickly through the internet."

"Oh, okay." A thought occurred to Aang and he added, "You know this is really out of character for you, just handing me the answers like this."

"Well if it were up to me and we were back in Omashu, things would be different," admitted Bumi. "If I had my way, I'd probably would have thrown you and your friends into a prison cell that was remodelled into the nice one, made you get a lunchbox dangling from a stalagtite, made you fight flopsy and possibly challenge you to a struggle of doom while your friends were in danger of being eaten alive by rock candy. Of course, since we're in Ba Sing Se, I don't really have the resources or the time to set all of those elaborate traps to test your mind up."

Aang blinked. "Ooooo-kay…"

"So you'd best get a move on Aang; that facility closes its doors by sundown and it's getting late," pointed out Bumi as he gestured to the sun which was in a mid-day position. "And it's across town. Here's the address."

Aang took it and hugged his friend. "Thanks for the help Bumi. Can I come visit you?"

"Oh sure, go right ahead!" exclaimed Bumi. "It'll give me something to do when Long Feng's shooting his mouth off about culture and preservation and all that tree-rot."

*

*

"Darnit Bumi," panted Aang who managed to reach the facility near sundown. "You just HAD to throw in one more joke didn't you!" Opening the map he glared at the directions. "This is a total mess of a map!"

Heaving a sigh, Aang pushed the door open and called out, "Anyone home?"

Stepping into the large majestic room, Aang whistled. A pinnacle of technological marvel, the décor was a mix of all four nations with all four symbols intertwined with the symbol of a white lotus. "Okay, I like this place."

"Excuse me? Hello?" called out Aang as he reached the back of the room. Suddenly an explosion rocked the hallway and he leaped backwards as a figure staggered into the room, covered in brown goo. "Whoa, what happened mister?"

"Ah I was testing the devastating power of the Peanut Sauce in a weapon," coughed the man as he towelled his face off. "I should have realized that the end result was only delicious."

"Ooo-kay. So um, I was told by my friend Bumi that I should come and visit and ask about Avatar Roku?" said Aang. "I'm Aang and…"

"Oh the Avatar," said the man who polished his glasses. "Yes Bumi called ahead; said to keep the place open until you arrived at sundown. Come along then; I'll show you the archivum."

Following the man down the floors, he added, "I'm known as the Machinist, but my real name is—" his phone rang. "Just a moment." The machinist picked up his phone and snapped it open. "Yes? Oh Teo. Yes. Yes that will be fine for dinner. All right. I'll be late tonight so please don't worry. Thank you." Hanging up, he turned to Aang. "My son Teo."

"Teo? Oh the boy from the library," said Aang as they stopped at a large pair of doors. "Is this it?"

"It is," said the man. "This is the Archivum, a bastion of technological wonders that Avatar Roku sealed away. We have the keys to it, but no way to access its power."

Opening the door, the pair stepped into the room and Aang gasped. Unlike the outside that was made of stone and wood, the inside of the deep chamber was made of shimmering crystals from wall to wall. A statue in the middle of it depicted a giant with a glowing sword that shone in the light, illuminating the area with its own internal luminescence. "This is… amazing. Was this made by bending?"

"Yes it was," replied the machinist. "You see, Avatar Roku found a way to put history and his knowledge into the crystals all around us, making it possible for the next Avatar to access the power. Or so they say at least." The machinist stepped to the side and nodded. "I'll leave you to this."

Stepping into the clear circular platform, the ground beneath Aang lit up and glyphs started to spin about the bottom, symbols and characters.

[Accessing Archivum] stated a mechanical voice. [DNA print confirmed. Welcome Avatar. Query?]

"Uh… bring up records of Avatar Roku. What did he do back in the day?"

[Accessing. In the beginning, Avatar Roku built the Archivum to house the knowledge of the ancient world. Developing the new technologies of the known world as it is today, he developed a sequence of technologies that would improve the quality of life. A—]

"I know all of that," interrupted Aang. "Can you tell me anything about the Azulon Super Virus?"

[Accessing. Record of Azulon Super Virus not found.]

Aang blinked. "Wait, what? But the virus was said to have spread a hundred years ago!"

[Accessing. Record of Azulon Super Virus not found. Record of Self-Evolving Learning and Reclimation Program codenamed "Sozin" is found. Elaborate?]

"Sure." Aang wondered what was going on. What was Sozin?

[Sozin is a program designed by Avatar Roku in order to suppress Fire Nation aggression against the rest of the world. Functions include data corruption, reclamation, learning capabilities as well as integration into the world internet system.]

"But what about the name Azulon?" inquired Aang.

[Accessing…] stated the machine. [Azulon: Fire Lord, Fire Nation. Began the rapid industrialization and modernizing of the known world along with the assistance of Avatar Roku at a young age. Known data states that Azulon was prepared to begin a war of expansion, due to ambition by using the technology provided by Avatar Roku's assistance. In response, Avatar Roku released the Self-Evolving Learning and Reclimation Program codenamed "Sozin" in order to combat the threat of military expansion.]

"I still don't get it," frowned Aang. "Can we get a copy of this information made somewhere?"

[Accessing. Copy complete. Would you like the base program of the "Sozin" program duplicated?]

"Sure, sounds good. Could have Toph look at it later," replied Aang. A small disk popped out of a nearby crystal and he took it, pocketing the device.

[Access complete. Would Avatar like to have system standby until next use?]

"Yeah, go ahead." The glyphs beneath Aang's feet glowed and the receeded. Looking at the disk, Aang scratched his head. "I won't pretend to understand ANY of what that was, but I'll look into it."

At that moment, Aang's Engine Cell Morpher beeped and he snatched it up. "Is there an attack?"

"No, but we have a situation," replied Doctor Toph and there was a sound of crashing in the background. "Get back here Ranger Yellow – Ranger Red's gone berserk."

*

*

Zuko snarled, flailing at the rest of the Rangers who held him down. "Get his legs!" roared Sokka, pouncing on his friend who tried to kick him off. "HIS HANDS!"

Katara grabbed Zuko's left arm and with surprising strength, Zuko hurled her into a console where she bounced off it with a loud crashing noise. The rumble of rocks announced Doctor Toph who bent the ground through the building, fastening him in place.

"That'll hold him for precisely 12 seconds," announced Toph as she bent the rest of the ground to bury the rest of his body up to the neck in slabs of stone "The floor will probably need replacing though."

"I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" roared Zuko and for a moment, they could have sworn he spat fire with that proclamation. "As soon as I get out here I'll beat you all to a stack of oats!"

"Well there's a statement of uncreativeness," snorted Sokka, poking Zuko in the nose. Zuko tried to bite him.

"Four seconds. You might want to step back Ranger Black," warned Toph.

"Are you really that precise—WHOA!" Sokka ducked as Zuko managed to rip his arm free. "Okay, you were right. BEND MORE ROCK!"

"I'm here!" called out Aang as Zuko wrestled his other arm free. "Why's Zuko buried in rock?"

"He's gone crazy and is trying to kill us all," replied Sokka.

"That makes no sense, but will this help?" asked Aang, holding up the disk.

"What's in there?" inquired Katara as Sokka jumped atop Zuko who flailed, still half-stuck in the rock. "Some kind of anti-virus?"

"Something like that. I think it said it was made by Avatar Roku. Something to do with a reclamation program?"

"Recli—GIMME!" Toph snagged the disk and shoved it into the nearest console. Scanning the information via VR helmet, Toph turned to Aang and handed him a cable. "Stick this onto Zuko, hurry!"

Aang looked at the plug. "I don't think Zuko's USB compatible—OW!"

"JUST SHOVE IT IN HIS EAR DAMNIT!" As Aang rushed to get the USB cable shoved into Zuko's ear, Toph ran the program through. There was a loud confirming beep and Zuko tensed, thrashed around a little and then slumped over, standing up. Then, slowly he stood back up, rubbing his head.

"Ow… what the… why am I trapped half in rock?" Zuko pulled the cable from his ear. "And why did someone shove a USB cable in my ear?"

"I can't believe that worked," deadpanned Aang as Doctor Toph pulled the disk free. "What was on that disk?"

"You really don't know?" replied Toph. "It had the source code for the Azulon virus, albeit in a more primitive form."

"Where did you get something THAT dangerous?" asked Sokka as Zuko managed to pull himself out of the stone that pinned him down.

"A little while ago, in this thing called the Archivum. It was said to be made by Avatar Roku." Said Aang. "But it said stuff that I don't understand cause of all of that technical stuff."

"I'm not surprised. The terminology is sound though. And it says stuff that I really don't like." Said Toph.

"What did it say?" inquired Katara, rubbing her arm.

"You're not going to like it, but here it is straight. Avatar Roku created a virus named Sozin and unleashed it on the world to stop the Fire Nation from beginning a war that would have been one of military expansion." Doctor Toph scowled. "Aang, Avatar Roku was the one who created the Supervirus. Avatar Roku was the one who brought this world to its knees."


	12. Chapter 12: Brother's Keeper

Brother's Keeper

*

*

"Going somewhere?"

Zuko froze halfway out the door as Doctor Toph stared at him, or rather off to the side but the intent was clear. The little girl was dressed in pajamas and fluffy bunny slippers without the soles but she still cut an intimidating glare when she needed to.

"Um… out for a midnight stroll?"

"Doubt it. By the amount of possessions you're taking with a substantial amount of food and silver, you're intending to leave." Replied Doctor Toph.

"And that's a bad thing?" grumbled. Zuko. "Look, I just need some space."

"That space will destabilize the team," pointed out Toph. "And I'm going to say it now that without me, your tech might start running wild again."

"What am I supposed to do then?" growled Zuko. "I never asked for this crap to happen to me! I didn't even know there was tech INSIDE ME!"

"And what? You're going to give up? Run away? CRY about it?" demanded Toph. "I will seriously kick your ass if you run from your responsibilities now."

"Since when did you resort to violence?" replied Zuko and he dodged to the side as a small rock flew at his head. "Okay okay! Geez, I'm going back to my room."

"See that you do." And as Zuko stomped back up, she added, "And stop stomping! And don't even THINK about going through the window!"

*

*

"Rangers, it has come to my attention that we are in desperate need of a teamwork strategy in this time of stress," said Doctor Toph, folding her arms. "You four need to work together."

"It would help if you joined us on the battlefield too you know," pointed out Zuko angrily.

Ignoring Zuko, Doctor Toph added, "Thus being said, I am implementing a little strategy that I learned in Alphabet Soup about teamwork. Hold out your hands people."

Looking at each other, they raised their hands. Toph smiled innocently before she gestured. Without warning, two sets of shackles on a long chain clamped onto their arms – fastening Katara and Aang together and Sokka and Zuko together. "Like em? I call em "Helpful Shackles" or perhaps "Teamwork Fixers"."

"… you handcuffed us together. WHY?" demanded Zuko.

"Two reasons. A) you need to work on your teamwork skills so we're going to try a little exercise. When you can work together properly, I'll break the shackles. Fair enough?" replied Doctor Toph.

"And the other?" inquired Katara.

"B mostly consists of keeping Zuko from running off on his own in a fit of angst." Zuko glared at the Doctor who didn't notice since she was blind. "Any more questions?"

"Yeah. Get me out of these cuffs. I need to go to the bathroom." Said Sokka.

"Sorry Sokka, you gotta deal with that while cuffed." Aang and Katara went completely red, Sokka groaned and Zuko palmed his face.

*

*

"This is stupid," summed up Zuko as he lined up a shot with his cue. "How am I supposed to get anything done with you on my arm almost literally—will you QUIT moving your arm?!"

Sokka shrugged, tugging Zuko's arm further away and making him miss his shot. Lining up his own cue, the other teen grinned. "At least you don't have to deal with being chained up to Katara. She'd drive anyone nuts."

"Can't believe you trust her with Aang," replied Zuko and Sokka missed his shot. "What?"

"What do you mean trust her with Aang?" inquired Sokka.

"Oh nothing. Thought that as the doting older, if stupid, brother you'd be worried about Katara's virtue." Zuko smirked at Sokka's expression. "After all, they'd be in the same room together, sleeping together, eating together… going to the bath together…"

'Oh Aang~!' rang through Sokka's mind and his jaw dropped to the floor as he fell over. Leaping to his feet, he pointed at Aang and Katara who were watching a movie on television and yelled "YOU TWO! MAX CHAIN LENGTH NOW!"

The pair blinked. "Do… you have any idea what he's yelling about?" inquired Aang.

"No idea. Just ignore him."

"Okay."

"LISTEN TO ME WHEN I'M COMMANDING PEOPLE!" roared Sokka and the pair decided to ignore him. Zuko patted him on the shoulder but the Fire Prince was waring a sardonic smirk on his face.

Zuko 1, Sokka 0.

*

*

"This is humiliating," said Zuko, his back to Sokka as the other teen splashed water over his head. "Can you at LEAST draw the curtain?"

"It just gets in the way of the chain," replied Sokka. "Hand me the shampoo."

Zuko growled low in his throat as he reached over and handed Sokka the shampoo with his good hand. "You just HAVE to take like 20 minute baths don't you?"

"Newsflash Zuko: I've been tucked under an engine for most of the last five hours."

"I know: I was under there with you."

"So you GET what I'm saying. I need cleansing!"

"Just promise me you're not going to do anything STUPID while we're chained together," grumbled Zuko.

"Sorry pal; got a date with Suki tonight." Replied Sokka.

Zuko almost fell over. "WHY didn't you TELL me about this?!"

"Hey, this was made before the Doc chained us together," replied Sokka. "As it stands, I gotta make an excuse to why we have a tagalong."

"Ugh. This can't get any worse."

"Hey do me a favor; wash my back? I think I'm getting a little dry back there."

Zuko groaned.

Zuko 1, Sokka 1.

*

*

"I can't believe you're making this into a Double Date Sokka!" exclaimed Suki.

"Be reasonable Suki; I can't get these cuffs open since its made completely out of earth AND I've got to put up with Zuko everywhere I go." Replied Sokka.

"Hey don't mind me; I'm as an unwilling passenger as Sokka is to me," griped Zuko.

Suki sighed, palmed her face and said, "I'm glad you notified me about this BRILLIANT change in our itinerary. At least then I was able to convince a co-worker to come along for Zuko's date."

"Say what?" echoed Zuko. "Date?!"

"Well DUH, or it'd be awkward," replied Sokka. "So who is she?"

"Behind you." The pair turned and a girl smiled, bowing. She had brown hair and a soft smile. "Hi, you're Zuko right? I'm Jin. Nice to meet you."

Sokka leaned in and whispered, "Zuko! Psst! Roll your tongue up—it'll make you more popular with the ladies!"

Suki 1, Sokka 1, Zuko 1.

*

*

"So you're a prince?" inquired Jin. "I've never met a real prince before."

"Yeah, well it's not like I throw the title around but yeah. Prince of the Fire Nation." Replied Zuko. "Or y'know, what's left of it."

Jin smiled. "I think you'd make a wonderful prince. And you already take steps to deal with the threats in our city. I think that's admirable."

Zuko swallowed nervously. "Y-yeah, thanks for that!"

Sokka leaned in and whispered to Suki, "I think they're getting along."

"You think?" replied Suki quietly. "I think they actually make a cute couple."

"Where'd you find her anyway?" inquired Sokka. "She's like so totally normal."

"She's a co-worker of mine," replied Suki, stirring her drink. "Works in communications. We have lunch together."

"So you work for the Dragons?" inquired Zuko as he sipped his tea. "How're you liking it?"

"It's different," admitted Jin. "My parents are simple shopkeepers so I never really got a chance to stand on my feet until now. General Iroh is a wonderful man. You're related to him right?" Zuko nodded. "He's always looking out for his troops, and brings everyone tea in the morning."

Zuko chuckled. "Sounds like uncle. I'm glad you've got a good job working for the Dragons. Most people don't give them the credit they deserve for doing their part in defending the city."

"Yeah, kinda sad. Everyone sees the Rangers and assume they're doing all of the work. But they're not. We've repeled a lot of invasions even before they showed up." Jin smiled. "I'm glad you at least understand, being a Ranger and all."

Zuko chuckled. "Well I suppose its in part that I never asked to be a Ranger until uncle pushed me to try out. They needed someone with a strong connection to fire, and most of the firebenders are in the service of the Dragons."

Jin nodded. Sokka stole one of Zuko's fish and remarked to Suki, "They are REALLY getting along well."

*

*

"So I got you something today Suki, seeing how it was your birthday." Sokka held out a small little box wrapped in green.

Suki took it and unwrapped it, gasping. "Oh Sokka! It's beautiful!" Holding up a small chain, it was a hand-carving attached to it.

"Like it? I got a friend to help me with it."

Ignoring Sokka, Zuko smiled at Jin and said, "Sorry, I didn't get anything for you."

"It's okay," replied Jin, patting him on the cheek. "I enjoyed our time together, and I got to know you. That's enough for a first date, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well well, isn't this a charming little scene?" sneered Azula as she appeared with her platoon of Grinders.

Zuko and Sokka turned to Azula and as one, chorused "DO YOU MIND?! WE'RE HAVING A MOMENT!"

Azula snorted and smirked cruelly. "Well now that I know Zuzu and the pesky Black Ranger has loved ones, I can do my part and immolate the both."

"Oh hell no," snapped Suki. "You think you're going to take advantage of us? Not a chance in hell."

"That's right," replied Jin, startling Zuko. "You're not just messing with girls you witch; you're messing with two of the Dragons."

"Dragons Shmagons. Grinders ATTACK!"

The robotic minions surged forth and Suki and Jin raced to meet the pair. Sokka and Zuko charged after them, going in different directions before snapping back and colliding loudly. "Ow! Watch it!" snapped Sokka.

"YOU watch it!" replied Zuko. But the pair had no more time to waste as they blocked two Grinders swinging their weapons at them.

Suki charged into the pack, vaulting an attack and spin-kicking the Grinder in the face. Bouncing from the impact, she dropped to the ground and swept two more off their feet before blocking the impact of another who swung its arm at her. Driving two hits into the Grinder's chest, she concaved it with a vicious blow.

Dropping low, Jin leaped over Suki and fired a pair of pistols that she drew from her purse. Arms akimbo, she fired repeatedly into the crowd and the enemy scattered.

As one, the boys heaved the Grinders off them. "Look, we need to work as a team," said Zuko as he blocked another strike and kicked the Grinder away.

"Fine, but follow my lead," replied Sokka, punching another and subsequently hauling Zuko with his arm.

"Your lead?" demanded Zuko, pulling back to wrap said chain around a Grinder's neck and ripping its head off. "This isn't dancing!"

Sokka shoved a Grinder and then stabbed it with a broken pole. "And what's THAT supposed to mean?"

Zuko pulled Sokka into a roll away from a pair of scything attacks and they hauled up their chain as one, tumbling a pack to the ground. "It means," said Zuko, getting up, "You're a lousy dance partner."

Sokka snorted as the pair punched a Grinder as one. "And you SUCK at leading."

"You think they're okay?" inquired Jin as she stood back to back with Suki, her arms spread to the side as she fired in a circle, following Suki's movements.

"I can't tell," replied Suki, crushing a Grinder's face with her knee. "Do they look okay?"

Jin winced as Sokka was flung around by the chain by Zuko, Sokka's feet slamming into several Grinders. "Well it depends on who's asking—and who's being used as a chain weapon."

Dropping Sokka, the teen hauled on his end of the chain and Zuko's feet left the ground. Driving both feet into the chest of a Grinder, Zuko asked, "Do you think the girls are fine?"

"I can't tell," replied Sokka as he bashed another Grinder in the head. "Do they look okay?"

Zuko glanced over at the pair who were trading spinning windmills in a well coordinated attack. Jin was STILL firing her lasers and Suki had found a discarded pipe she was using as a spear. "I'm gonna say they can handle themselves. That's some girl you have."

"Yeah, she's great," sighed Sokka moments before he was wrenched downwards to avoid an attack that would have taken his head off. "Hey, where's Azula?"

Zuko looked up and swore. "DOWN!" Lightning blasted across the battlefield and he snarled, "I HATE LIGHTNING!"

Azula blew her fingers as she bent fire at them, and Zuko and Sokka rolled as one. She raised her hand again, the fingertips crackling but then Suki's pipe slammed into her hand, knocking it clean off. "OW! MY HAND!"

"She's not human is she?" said Jin as she shot a Grinder repeatedly who managed to get too close. Shoving it backwards with her foot, the girl fired at Azula who was forced to fire back fireballs with her good hand.

"Nope," replied Suki as she hauled Jin backwards, flipping the girl over her back as Jin spun around, firing at Azula who dodged wildly. "She's slipping through. Must be because you took her hand off."

"Must be," replied Jin.

The boys finally had enough of being separated as they charged through the ranks, keeping the chain taught. Grinders were caught in the forward tackle and they smashed them up against a building. Picking up a rock, Zuko threw it at Azula and it winged the girl on the head, causing her to reel with a whine of servos. "Whoa, never got a clear shot like that before."

"Keep it up and we'll get her beat in no time," proclaimed Sokka.

Azula stood, growling. "This isn't over!" And she vanished as with the rest of the functional Grinders.

"Yeah well good riddance!" exclaimed Sokka to the air moments before Suki glomped him. "Whoa!"

"You were wonderful out there!" exclaimed Suki as she pulled away. "You're really working well with Zuko."

"What, really?"

On the other side, Jin was inspecting Zuko for damage and he squirmed a little as she checked his sides. "I'm okay, really. I heal fast."

"If you say so," replied Jin, blushing a little. Tucking her pistols into the bag she carried, she added, "I hope you don't think its weird for me to carry my service lasers with me but…"

"Oh no, I think it works out in the end," said Zuko with a small smile.

Suki smiled at Sokka and leaned in when suddenly his Engine Cell Morpher beeped. She let out a sigh. "Work's never done is it?"

"Nope," said Sokka, clearly unhappy about being cockblocked as he popped his morpher open. Zuko did as well. "This had better be important."

"Series Black, we've received a distress signal. Its weak but I think you may want to hear this. Patching it through."

"This is Hakoda… sending distress signal… coordinates 24 long by 42… assist… captured…"

Sokka nearly dropped his morpher. "Play it again!" he demanded.

"I can't. The signal degraded," replied Doctor Toph.

"Sokka what's wrong?" asked Suki.

"It's my father. He just sent a distress signal." Replied Sokka and Suki gasped.

"What about the signal?" inquired Jin and Sokka shook his head. "Oh no…"

"It gets worse," replied Zuko and Sokka made a face.

"I REALLY hate it when you say that. When you do, it's always BAD."

"24 by 32. That puts them right in the middle of Fire Nation, beyond the Manigot Line. Sokka… your father is being taken to The Boiling Rock—the former maximum security prison of the Fire Nation."

"I hate it when you say stuff like that." Groused Sokka.


	13. Chapter 13: The Boiling Rock Part 1

The Boiling Rock Part 1

*

*

"Am I going to have to start LOCKING you people into your rooms? Maybe earthbend a wall of STONE across your doors and windows?" demanded Doctor Toph as Zuko and Sokka tried to sneak out of the building late at night.

"How does she do that?" groused Sokka as Zuko turned towards the tiny scientist.

"We need to get to the Boiling Rock. It's the worst possible place ANYONE could be in," said Zuko. "It's a facility—"

"That does horrible experimentation on humans, I KNOW. I read your mind Zuko," replied Toph, getting a startled look from the teen.

"… how does she do that?" said Zuko lamely as Sokka shrugged.

"Actually you just confirmed my theory," replied Doctor Toph and the pair were bent into a pair of chairs and locked into place. "Now then, let's review shall we? The Boiling Rock; formerly the Maximum Security Prison for the Fire Nation in its hey day, it houses nearly a thousand prisoners and is surrounded by a boiling lake. No one gets in, no one gets out."

"Like an Ant-Trap but bigger?" put in Sokka.

"MUCH bigger. Look, you'll need MY help to get in there. I know my way around computers and source codes, and I'm SURE you'll have difficulty getting there let alone getting OUT."

"One problem with that: this is supposed to be a two-man mission if only due to the fact that you've kept us CHAINED TOGETHER!" Zuko rattled his stone chains irritably.

"Precaution. Now we are to assume that Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe is being held captive there. And the only reason WHY they would send him there is one possibility." Toph turned towards the pair, expression deadly serious. "They are going to EXPERIMENT on him."

"Experiment? With sharp objects, screwdrivers, needles and possible sharp, blunt and otherwise DEADLY objects?!" screeched Sokka.

"Yes that is correct."

"… I think I'm going to be faint…" said Sokka weakly.

"Three people. That's going to be tough getting us into the building. How are we even going to get there anyhow? We can't all fit into the Dragon-Hawk." Mused Zuko.

"We're not taking a zord, although we'll have them. I've arranged for other methods of travel." Replied Toph.

*

*

"Wild Doc's Pet Emporium?" recited Sokka as the trio of Rangers stood at the gates of it. "This has BAD IDEA written all over it."

"Why hello there!" proclaimed a man who leaped out of nowhere, startling Sokka into Doctor Toph's arms. She dropped him with a resounding thud. "I'm Dock, and I own this place. Me and my brother Xu actually."

"We're here about our ride. You have it ready?" inquired Doctor Toph.

"Well yeah, but we've got a problem. He's mighty feisty and doesn't take to many people." Dock eyed the girl. "Have we met somewhere before?"

"Never met you in my life," replied Doctor Toph.

Dock shrugged as he lead the trio into the Pet Emporium. Leaning in, Zuko asked, "What kind of place is this?"

"An animal sanctuary of sorts. It provided me with the necessary DNA of every animal that's so far made its way into a zord. Some of these are quite resilient."

"Here we are," said Dock as he lit up a room. Sitting there was a large furry shape that made a groaning sound that they were all familiar with.

"Are you serious?" exclaimed Sokka. "I thought these were extinct?"

In response, said large furry shape licked Sokka from head to toe with a giant tongue.

"Nope, not extinct," replied Dock as he patted the huge Flying Bison. "Found this poor fella on the shores a few years ago. Nursed it to health I did, and then brought it to Ba Sing Se. It refuses to be purchased but it's a nice helper when it comes to making delivery runs."

The flying bison licked Dock and he chuckled. "Friendly fella too."

"So this is a Flying Bison," remarked Zuko and the Bison sniffed him before licking him. "Euch!"

"Where did you find him anyhow?" inquired Sokka. "I mean, you said the shore but…"

"Oh I found him actually drifting somewhere near the coastline to the west," replied Dock. "Me and Xu nursed him back an all."

"So this Flying Bison can actually fly us out of Ba Sing Se, and get us undetected to The Boiling Rock?" inquired Zuko.

"That is the going idea," replied Doctor Toph. "As much as I hate flying in something that isn't solid, we've got the best chance of being undetected. Organics will shield us from being caught prematurely."

"Well I'm game as long as it doesn't involve evil laser death rays being shot at us," replied Sokka.

Zuko scowled. "Sokka, lasers aren't evil. And the only thing that'll hear us are birds."

"Hey, we're going to be in enemy territory. Those are ENEMY BIRDS." A bird landed on his head and cawed before he chased it off.

*

*

"Anyone seen Sokka or Zuko?" called out Katara, pulling a sleepy Aang along with her. "Hello? Anyone? Doctor T?"

Aang yawned. "Maybe they're asleep?"

"Doubt it," replied Katara, looking around before plucking a note off the fridge. "Katara. Aang. Need meat. Gone fishing. Back in a few days." She growled low and then twisted the note in her hands. "What the HELL!? Who'd fall for THAT?!"

"Hey there's something else on here." Gently Aang tugged the letter free and smoothed the creases. "PS: If there's an attack, get General Iroh to handle it. Also, there are no keys for the cuffs as they are no keyholes. And most of all, no peeking." Aang went a little red, as with Katara. "I didn't need to know the last part."

"Doesn't ANYONE value the point that I'm team leader?!" cried Katara, burying her face in her hands.

*

*

"So THAT'S how you get a Bison to move," said Dock as he drove the Bison while Doctor Toph tapped at her laptop with her back to the wind. "I never realized the command of Yip Yip would do it. How'd you kids know?"

"Call it a hunch," replied Sokka smugly.

Zuko leaned over Toph's shoulder and asked, "Find anything?"

"Hacking into the Azulon network is delicate work Zuko," replied Toph. "You just need to find the right place to hit it with a hammer."

"Wait I thought hacking involved QUIET intrusions?" inquired Sokka.

"It usually does, but the defenses are meant to detect that kind of thing. So wailing away electronically usually does the trick." Cracking her knuckles, she grinned widely. "I'm in. Accessing the schematics for the Boiling Rock Facility."

"Tiny genius girl does it again," smirked Sokka which earned him a punch to the feet. "Ow…!"

Swooping down, Toph pressed a button as a clear energy field engulfed them. "Wow Doc, you just put cloaks on everything huh?" remarked Sokka dryly before he got punched in the feet again.

"There's a blind spot we can land and unload just between two towers near a row of cylinder-type protrusions," reported Toph. "Land us there Dock."

"Okie dokie." Landing, Zuko got out first and immediately exhaled sharply. "It's hot…"

"We're going to need disguises," said Sokka, joining him as Toph landed with a thud. With a groan, the Flying Bison flew away and he gaped. "What was THAT for?"

"I told him to go and wait twenty four hours. If we're not out by then…" said Toph.

Sokka swallowed. "Right…"

"Oh, one last thing—" Toph twitched her head and the shackles that bound the pair together fell off. "Now that you guys can't run off on me, I've decided to remove your bindings."

"Oh joy." Grumbled Zuko and Sokka massaged his wrist.

"And you couldn't have done this sooner?" demanded Sokka.

"It was more fun watching you guys suffer. Get it? WATCHING?" Toph waggled a hand in front of her face before she returned to her normal smirk.

*

*

Peering out behind a few rocks, Zuko pulled back as a pair of Grinders tromped through the hall. "We can't get any disguises easily, they're all robots."

"There's got to be some way to blend in," muttered Sokka. "Doctor T?"

"Checking. Looks like human captives are all downstairs in the old prison cells. It's controlled by a central mechanism high in the tower, but we'd be unable to move around easily if we were masquerading as prisoners." Toph then tapped her chin. "Sokka, Zuko, how much do you two weigh?"

"Uh… is that a trick question?" inquired Sokka.

"I get it. Wait right here."

Peeking out, Zuko yelled, "HEY!" and two Grinders turned around. He slapped his ass at them and ducked behind the corner. The Grinders took chase and as they rounded the corner, parts flew everywhere.

"Toss the gutted stuff into the compartment here," said Toph, opening a hatch as they wrestled into the shells of the Grinders.

"I think mine's backwards," complained Sokka as he squeezed into the gutted Grinder chestpiece. Putting his new makeshift helmet on, he stretched out his hand. "I can't see in this thing!"

"Oh no, what a shocker," deadpanned Toph.

"Now what?" inquired Zuko as he put his own helmet on.

"NOW you two get to capture me." Smirked Toph as she gave them her bag.

*

*

"We are taking this prisoner to cell block D," stated Sokka in a robotic monotone.

The pair of Grinders parted as they shoved Toph forward. "Careful you clods," hissed Toph angrily.

"Sorry," whispered Zuko. "Trying NOT to blow our cover. And quit with the robot voice Sokka!"

Moving Toph towards a cell, they pulled it open and shoved her in. Toph held up a hand with all five fingers spread and the boys nodded before shutting the door.

"I'll take the top, you take the bottom," whispered Zuko as the pair robot-walked away from each other.

Once a pair of Grinders were out of sight, Sokka peeked into each room. Some of the prisoners were unfamiliar for the most part, dressed in drab grey scraps but they were all miserable. After the tenth one, he sighed sharply. "This is going to be one hell of a jailbreak," grumbled the teen to himself.

Downstairs, Zuko clumsily walked past a few more Grinders before he rounded the corner. Peeking into a few more rooms, he grimaced. Some of the prisoners were nursing wounds here and there and one of them had metal sticking out of his forearm. His fist clenched as he steadied his breathing.

Making an effort to robot-walk to the upper floor, a buzzer rang as the doors slid open. Doctor Toph's words came back to him.

'There are several levels with multiple prisoners. Like clockwork, they are allowed fresh air and free time, but then herded back to the cells. Presumably to keep them from being started to death or deprived of oxygen. Take this time to look over the people who are captured and see which ones we can take with us. We'll get the rest out later.'

Robot-walking past a few more prisoners who gave him room, Zuko scanned the room and his breath caught. There, standing in the corner of the room was a tall regal looking woman who's eyes were full of sadness. Her arm bore the marks of experimentation but there was a steel in her mannerism yet tempered by gentleness.

"… mom?"

"Prisoner X223, prepare for further study." Announced a robotic voice. Suddenly, without warning, a small group of Grinders marched out and seized the woman by the arms. Zuko's heart leaped into his throat and he almost yelled 'NO!" but then, a tiny hand belonging to Toph pulled from a distance, making him jerk a little. He spun and she shook her head in warning from her position at the wall.

The doors clanged shut and Zuko hit the wall when no one was looking.

"That was my MOTHER!" exclaimed Zuko, throwing his helmet to the side. He hit the wall, earning shush motions from Sokka. "DON'T SHUSH ME!"

"Calm down Series Red," said Toph, folding her arms. "She's still alive. I've accessed her file. Looks like she's being tested for endurance of some kind."

"Endurance for what? Robot's poking her with saws and needles?!" demanded Zuko.

"No. But it's something I've never seen before, and it worries me. Zuko, you said this is a research facility and it's quite obvious they're researching on human beings. The question remains: what comes FROM that research?" Toph looked him in the eye, or past him rather. "I think, and this is just a hypothesis, but this is where you were BORN."

"… no way…" Zuko slumped to his knees. "No… no! It can't be! I remember growing up with Uncle... he rescued me… from the machines…" He stared at his hands, horror in his eyes. "Is this really me? Is this MY name?"

"Snap out of it man!" Sokka delivered two slaps to Zuko's cheeks, reddening them with the force ot it. Shaking the teen from his shoulders, he enunciated, "We. Are. Going. To get your mother back. AND my father. No matter the cost. THEN we'll worry about if you're living a lie. Because to me, you're still the insufferable jerk who makes my life hard. GOT IT?"

Zuko stared at Sokka. "Sokka…"

Toph cleared her throat. "If you two BOYS are finished with your man-love, we've got bigger issues to fry." They leaped aside as if scaled and the Doctor allowed herself a small rare smile.

"Never happened," said Zuko and Sokka nodde rapidly with a "Nu huh."

Toph turned her laptop around. "Look at this. In another three hours, the experimentees are returned to their cells. I've already located Zuko's mom AND I found Sokka's dad too. He's three floors above us and twenty meters west."

"End of the hallway," mused Zuko. "What do we do once we get them out?"

"We need a way to get out of the building and onto the Bison before they notice us," mused Sokka. "Hey, what were those cylinder things anyhow?"

"Coolers," replied Zuko. "I remember it from Fire Nation History that uncle taught me. They chill a Firebender to a point where all they can do to stay alive is to firebend themselves warm. It keeps them from thinking of escaping as their whole intent is to focus on survival."

"Wow, you people REALLY know how to keep someone locked up huh?" replied Sokka dryly. The tromping of Grinders outside the door alerted the pair and Doctor Toph hid her laptop while the boys put on their helmets. Fortunately the Grinders passed by, and they exhaled. "So what's the plan?"

"In three hours they'll be returned, which leaves us another 2 until the next rec time. We need to override that directive, and start a riot." Replied Doctor Toph. "While you're doing that, I need to get to the main console and download as much information as possible before slagging it."

"Sounds like a solid plan, but we'll need to convince people. Not to mention? Grinders have guns; we don't."

"Don't worry. Once the riot begins I'll pop the locks to the armory." Toph smirked. "They'll never know what's coming till it's too late."

"All right. In the meantime, Zuko, make contact with your mom. I'll get my dad. Hopefully we can get them to convince others." Sokka put his helmet. "Lets do this."

*

*

Hakoda sat on his bunk, contemplating his fate. True he managed to get a distress signal out, but if it made its way to Ba Sing Se, there was only a small chance they could get there in time.

Just then, the doo opened and a Grinder stepped in choppily before the door closed. Hakoda wasted no time and bolted to his feet, aiming a punch at the Grinder before stopping a inch from the Grinder's face.

A long uncomfortable silence passed between them. And then Hakoda remarked, "Aren't you a little small to be a Grinder?"

"Gee dad, thanks for giving the world more ammo," groused the Grinder before pulling off its head – no, helmet. It was a teenager wearing a gutted Grinder suit as an infiltration uniform, but he'd remember those eyes anywhere and that goofy haircut of his. "Dad…"

"Sokka!" The pair hugged, Sokka a little more stiffly than his father due to the mechanical bits getting in the way. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to bust you out," said Sokka. "Doctor T managed to get most of your distress signal and we tracked you here to the Boiling Rock. We can't get everyone out but we'll be coming back for the rest of the people."

"Better a few than none," said Hakoda. "Son, what are you doing out here on such a dangerous mission? Is your sister all right?"

"She's fine dad, Katara's doing fine. AAAAAND she's probably tearing her hair out right now cause we left her, the team leader, high and dry with Aang." Replied Sokka, NOT looking forward to any threats of physical violence from his hair-trigger temper sister. "She's gotten pretty mean lately."

"I'm sure you just provoke her in that way," chuckled Hakoda. "Team leader? Of what?"

"Believe me dad, you're going to have to sit down for this one."

*

*

The beautiful woman looked up as the Grinder stepped into her room. "More tests," she said passively.

"Not exactly." Replied the Grinder as he took his helmet off. "Mom…"

The woman looked at Zuko, examining him. "Do I… know you?"

"It's me mom," said Zuko, tapping his chest. "Me. Zuko! Your son!"

"My… son?" repeated the woman. "I… don't remember a son…"

"Mom please!" exclaimed Zuko desperately. "Think back! You are our mom, mine and Azulas! We fled the Fire Nation, and you were caught in an attack. Then Uncle Iroh saved me." Zuko choked a sob back. "That… that was the last time I saw you…"

"I'm sorry…" said the woman. "But… I don't remember any of that."

Zuko grit his teeth and restrained himself from screaming angrily as he sunk to his knees. "Why…?" he managed. "Why don't you remember me?"

The woman knelt down and caressed his hair with her good hand. "I'm sorry… but I have to say that… if you were my son, I would be proud. Because you came back for me. That's enough isn't it?"

Zuko nodded, swallowing his tears back. "Mo—er, ma'am… I'm going to get you out of here. We can only get a few out at a time but…"

"It's fine," said the woman. "But I want you to get two others out before myself."

"What? NO!"

"Please!" protested the woman. "They are as lost as I am, and require help. But they are young and strong and have been devising escape plan after escape plan. I'm sure with their help you can bring as many people as you want."

"Please," pleaded the woman. "Do it? For me?"

Zuko nodded, wiping his eyes before replacing his helmet. "I'll do it. For you."

*

*

"Did you get a hold of your mom?" whispered Sokka.

"I did… but she says she's not my mom." Replied Zuko. "But I KNOW she's my mom."

"So we just drag here with us," replied Sokka and Zuko shook his head. "Why not?! You're gonna leave her here to rot?"

"NO, I won't," replied Zuko angrily. "But I'm going to make sure her first request of me will be fulfilled. There's two others she wants out, two girls, side by side in the cells next to her. She wants them out first since they've been trying to escape for years now."

Sokka groaned. "We should have called for backup."

"Radio silence," reminded Zuko and Sokka ground his teeth. "Besides, we've got a couple of girls to talk to."

"Yeah you're right. Boy this Ranger stuff is like a gift that keeps on giving." Groaned Sokka.

"Like Fish Taco Hut?" smirked Zuko. "And their 99 copper Tuesday?"

"HEY I'll have you know Fish Tacos with extra spicy Fire Sauce is one of the most brilliant creations in mankind," protested Sokka, folding his arms.

"Sure it is. That's why ever Tuesday night you're in the bathroom screaming 'Oh my sides, oh my sides, oh why Agni do you torment me so with your fiery goodness'?" taunted Zuko. "Get a move on you clod, we've got women to talk to."

Sokka rolled his eyes, not that Zuko could see it under the makeshift helmet, and tromped back down towards the lower cells.

"Stupid Zuko and his memory," grumbled Sokka as he opened the cell door to the one to the left cell and stepped inside, closing the door.

But before he could even get out a "Hi", the girl was atop him, slamming his head into the floor and punching wildly. "That's for me! And that's for Mai! And that's for every person you've roughed up you Grinder!" she exclaimed, punctuating the declarations with thuds to the chest and head.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" exclaimed Sokka and the girl halted in mid punch.

"Waaaaaait a minute… Grinders don't say ow…" said the girl. Grabbing his helmet, she wrenched up, eliciting a series of pops as Sokka proclaimed, "OWWW-IIEEEEE!"

She stared at him and he looked up at her.

And then she stated, "A stranger. From the outside! OOOooooOOOOoooOoooohhhh!"

"Glad to see I'm wanted," groaned Sokka. "Mind getting off my chest? This piece is tight enough as is…"

"Sure!" The girl hopped off Sokka's chest and he groaned, sitting up. "I'm Ty Lee. And you?"

"Sokka," he grimaced. "Of the Water Tribe. I'm here to get you out. The lady in the cell, you know the one between us?"

"Lady? Oooh yeah her, Lady Ursa! She don't look it but she's a really classy lady. You can tell cause she's nobility. Grew up with her son and daughter I did," said Ty Lee, nodding rapidly. "So…. You here to get Mai out too?"

"Friend of yours?" groaned Sokka as he got to his feet.

"Yeah, she and I've been together since we were kids, and in the same secret lab too before we even turned six. In any case, we grew up with Azula and Zuko and…"

"Wait hold on. YOU grew up with Zuko? That's AWESOME!" exclaimed Sokka loudly and, realizing his mistake, looked out of the cell door to make sure none of the Grinders noticed. "Zuko's here too," he added in a softer voice. "We're here to bust out my dad and his mom which I suppose really IS his mom since you just confirmed it and we'll get you and this Mai girl out of the place too. We'll come back for everyone else as soon as we can muster a big enough attack force."

Ty Lee nodded. "So, how are you gonna get us out?"

"We're gonna stage a riot and in the confusion, get everyone out." Explained Sokka.

"Ooooh that's not going to work," said Ty Lee. "tried it. Most people here have their spirits broken."

"Nurtz. Plan B: sabotage!"

"Tried it. Didn't work."

Sokka growled and held his head. "Is there ANY plan we haven't tried yet?"

"Wellllllllll," drawled Ty Lee. "There's always the workshifts…"

"Workshifts? What workshifts?"

"The workshifts. They get people to make technology for them, the smart ones. Me and Mai do it often. We're developing aerial attack vehicles for them, well, air and land conversion ones anyhow. We had this plan where we'd use those to escape but it's just the two of us, y'know? We can fit the entire populace onto one of them but still…"

Sokka blinked. "That… is brilliant. Lets do it!"

"Okay!" chirped Ty Lee. "anything I can do to help?"

"For now, just stay here and um, look like your spirit's broken. I'll go talk to your friend Mai and fill her in. And then I'll tell Zuko and the Doc and dad." Sokka put on his helmet, flashed her a thumbs up and slid out the door. There was the sound of another cell sliding back and the loud PA-KUNG! of something hard striking the door.

"Oooooooh, forgot to mention to him that Mai attacks Grinders on sight…"

*

*

"What happened to you?" asked Doctor Toph as she gazed up at Sokka's throbbing blue shiner.

"Zuko's childhood friend has a vicious right hook," replied Sokka, holding a bit of ice stolen from the human cafeteria that was still in service. Zuko snickered.

"So we've determined that the lady truly is Lady Ursa and my data on her confirms it. However, we will need to make sure these two girls—what was their names again?"

"Ty Lee and Mai," replied Sokka and Doctor Toph froze. "What? Was it something I said?"

Visibly recomposing herself, Doctor Toph returned to her work. "These, er, Ty Lee and Mai, make sure they coordinate with us. I've arranged via hacking for all of us to be at the vehicle worksite in the next three hours along with your father Sokka. What YOU TWO need to do is get down there and make sure the vehicles are clear of any uneeded debris so we can blast our way out."

"How do you know if there's going to be weapons on these things?" inquired Zuko.

"Please, it's a hostile workshop with air and ground weapons being built. They wouldn't go without at least ONE boomstick on the ship-thingy," smirked Sokka.

"Then it's settled. Operation Boom-Time will be a go in three hours. Gentlemen? Get something to eat quickly. We'll be doing a lot of running." Said Doctor Toph.


	14. Chapter 14: The Boiling Rock Part 2

The Boiling Rock Part 2

*

*

"Aaaah sammich, you are my friend." Sokka wolfed down the meal as Zuko kept a lookout for any Grinder that would be walking into the kitchen and find a human in grinder clothing.

"Eat faster, I think they're going to shift-change soon," hissed Zuko as Sokka raided the fridge again. "What are you doing?"

"Stocking up," replied Sokka, downing a chicken leg. "You know for a evil research facility full of mad scientists, poor broken spirits of prisoners and possible certain doom? They have some REALLY good chicken." He smacked his lips. "Tastes like deer."

Zuko rolled his eyes. Then he hissed, "Helmet on!"

Dropping the food, Sokka shoved the helmet onto his head and had to twist it around to make sure it was on right seconds before Ursa walked in.

She looked at the pair and said, "You two are the human boys right?"

"Yes ma'am," said Zuko and it took every inch of his being not to give his mom a hug. "We're here um…"

"Stealing food," replied Sokka, returning to his chicken-deer leg.

"Oh my. Well, don't eat too much or there won't be enough for the prisoners. They want us to work and the only way to do that is to keep our strength up." Ursa smiled as she picked up an apple and dusted it off. "Now then boys, help me out here prepare the next meal?"

"Mo—er, ma'am, don't you want to be rescued with the rest of the people?" inquired Zuko. "This is why we're eating; to get our strength up for the next operation."

Ursa smiled in the way that made Zuko feel like he was back home in the Fire Nation, but he was crestfallen to hear her next words. "My turn will come. The young have priority over the old."

Sokka laid a hand on his friends shoulder, shook his head and then turned to Ursa. "Ma'am, we'll get you out of here as soon as we evacuate the first wave. C'mon Zuko."

"Have fun blowing things up boys," called out Ursa as she set to prepare the evening meal for the prisoners.

"… Thanks," Zuko said finally as they were finally in the clear.

"No prob. If I saw my dad or my mom like that, I would have probably froze up like you too," admitted Sokka.

"Yeah… uh…" Zuko rubbed his neck. "I um… about your parents…"

Sensing the question, Sokka replied, "My mom's dead. She died in a raid on the Southern Water Tribe before we moved camp again. Katara and I were barely six when it happened. Katara's never forgotten, and neither have I."

"I see. Sorry pal."

"Yeah. C'mon, lets focus on the positive side: once we start blowing up, we've got an entire army of Grinders to blast to high heaven. That'll make you happy right?"

Zuko chuckled. "Yeah it will."

*

*

The Grinders moved aside as Doctor Toph was pulled bodily into the development hangar. She exluded enough control and helplessness that the machines gave her barely a second glance as the two slightly small Grinders tromped her up the ramp towards the two assault vehicles.

"Okay we're clear," said Sokka after a moment. "What now?"

"Zuko, you cover me. I'm going to pretend to do maintanence on the zords via computer. Sokka, make sure as many prisoners as you can manage are moved onto the vehicles themselves." Replied Doctor Toph.

"What about my mom?"

"I've arranged for Lady Ursa to be down here. Hopefully she'll make it before we're go for boom time." Said Doctor Toph. "Get a move on Sokka."

"Right."

"And don't morph unless you really need to." Added Doctor Toph. "One morph and we'll bring the whole facility on our heads and alert Azulon to our presence."

Moving aside, Sokka went down the stairs and stared up at the massive attack vehicles. "Geez, these are big."

Locating his father, he robot-walked towards him and tapped him on the shoulder. Hakoda looked up from the padd he was "using" and said "Yes?"

Wordlessly Sokka gestured and when he passed by, whispered, "it's time." Hakoda nodded and gestured to several other prisoners. "You, you, you, you, you and you. Come with me. We are required to inspect the interior."

The prisoners nodded and followed Hakoda and Sokka watched them go. Then he turned back to the walkway and flattened himself against it as a pair of familiar boots tromped across the top.

"I don't see why we need to visit this facility," said Azula, tossing a lock of her hair behind her head as General Ozai and Zhao followed behind her. "It's one big research facility."

"This is more than a research facility Azula 4," said Ozai. "This is where the Hybrids are born."

"You mean this is where I was made," said Azula. She sighed. "If only our lord would just have made me without all of these HUMAN flaws."

"Perhaps you could pay them another visit, and have them CUT OUT your humanity like they did to us," snorted Zhao.

"Perhaps, but I kind of like my face. Now lets get a move on; I want to get back to the Fire Capital before dark. Even Hybrids require sleep."

Sokka exhaled sharply as the trio tromped away. Once they vanished out of sight, Sokka quickly made his way towards Doctor Toph and Zuko who was still "guarding" her. "Doc, big news," hissed the boy.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" replied Doctor Toph. "Now what?'

Quickly Toph explained and Zuko paled. "Are you serious?" hissed Zuko. "You mean to tell me THIS is the place where I was…?"

"Yeah, and it looks like your sister underwent the same process. And those two bots that accompanied her. I didn't get their names but…" Sokka looked up. "This is bad. If they can get more hybrids out, we'd have to be more careful taking in refugees. More infiltrators means less trust in our fellow man."

"And of course, there's always the chance they'll continue these inhumane experiments." Finished Doctor Toph. She contemplated the situation and then closed her laptop. "Change in plans boys. We're going to blow this place sky high. BUT to do so, we need to break radio silence."

"How? We didn't bring anything that powerful to get to Ba Sing Se," said Zuko.

Toph smirked. "Who do the hell do you think you're talking to? I'll get us through."

*

*

"No attacks for two days," said Aang as he watched Katara pace, the stone links clinking as she did so. "Do you think…?"

"No, they're alive," said Katara. "But when I get my hands on them they'll WISH they were DEAD!"

Aang winced. Then the doorbell rang and he leaped to his feet. "Maybe that's them now!"

Bodily dragging the girl over, he opened the door to reveal Bumi standing there, leering in at Aang with his customary lack of personal space. "Aaaaaaang, we need to know where Doctor Toph is."

Aang, bodily leaned back from Bumi's actions nearly toppled over as Bumi pulled back. "We haven't heard from them for two days. What's up?"

"Two days ago we received an order from Doctor Toph to lower the shield," said Iroh who was right behind his companion. "they left via Flying Bison.'

Katara shot Aang a look and he held up his hands in protest, chain links ringing. "I didn't do anything of the sort!"

"A real bison Aang," said Bumi. "And I SUSPECT it's Appa. The REAL Appa."

Aang blinked, jaw hanging. "You mean Appa's ALIVE?!" he exclaimed, now violating Bumi's personal space.

"Yep," chuckle-snorted Bumi. "Now will you get off my chest Aang?" Aang quickly got off Bumi's chest as he added, "Most of the animals that Doctor Toph uses are from here in Ba Sing Se. When I heard a man named Dock… or was he name Xu… or was it Bushi? I forget! Dock-slash-Xu-slash-Bushi found a real honest to Avatar FLYING BISON, we knew it was just a matter of time before you showed up Aang."

"That means they need a organic mount to go somewhere that is heavily laced with sensors to detect technological intrusion," said Katara. "But where?"

"We suspect it is here." Pulling a map from his jacket, Iroh spread it out on a table and everyone peered around him. Jabbing a finger at an island that was circled near the coast of the Fire Nation, he said, "Here, the Boiling Rock. Coordinates were given from a message we routed to Doctor Toph about two days ago. 24, 42. That brings us to the former Maximum Security Prison of the Fire Nation." Iroh sighed. "We believe they are there, possibly staging a rescue."

"Of who?" asked Katara.

"Chief Hakoda." Said Iroh and it was Katara's turn for her jaw to drop.

"Hakoda?" echoed Aang.

"My father… he was declared MIA though three years ago." Said Katara, her expression turned downwards.

"That may be, but obviously the Doctor as well as Zuko and Sokka could not ignore this call for help. However what it may be, they have asked for Radio Silence." Iroh sighed.

Just then his earpiece chirped and he tabbed it. "I am not in at the moment."

"General, I know you asked not to be disturbed but there is an incoming transmission from Coordinates 24, 42. It's on a encrypted frequency. Audio only. Shall I relay it?"

"One moment as I put you on speaker." Iroh clicked the speaker. "Go ahead."

Static burst from the radio as a crackly message came through. "This is Doctor Toph. We have infiltrated the Boiling Rock and are risking Radio Silence in order to send this message. We have the Pillar and the Bear. Repeat, we have the Pillar and the Bear. Requesting aid for immediate evac. Coming in hot with stragglers."

"What does that all mean?" asked Aang, unfamiliar with the terms.

"Pillar and Bear means something, or rather two some ones," replied Bumi. "Pillar probably means Hakoda since he's a pillar of strength for his people. Though bear, I haven't heard that designation before."

"I think I may," mused Iroh. "I think we should be ready however for any possibility. Katara, Aang, I would like you to go reinforce your fellow Rangers while we gather two Flights for the mission. It sounds like it will be an EVENTFUL rescue, if you get my meaning."

*

*

"So what's the plan?" asked Sokka quietly.

"It's simple," replied Doctor Toph. "Once we've gotten the aid within 10 minutes of arrival, we will begin the breakout. Zuko, I need you to go upstairs, disable the controls of all of the cells. Once we've done that, we move them all onto the two death machines they're having us build, use them to escape with as many prisoners as possible. Any stragglers will be picked up by the reinforcements. When we're done, we blow this place to kingdom come."

"Crude yet simple," mused Sokka.

"What about those who can't move on their own power?" asked Zuko.

"That's where I come in," said Hakoda. "I've been talking to those who've been wanting to escape for some time now, and I've convinced as many people as possible to drag as many as they can with them. It won't be easy though."

"And what'll you do in the meantime?" asked Zuko of Doctor Toph.

"I'm going to hack into the mainframe, and disable all of the Grinders." Replied the Doctor.

"You can do that?" asked Sokka. "Why didn't you do it sooner?"

"Because they'll only be out for 11 minutes before the failsafes kick in remotely. By then I'll be in full Ranger uniform and kicking ass of any of the attack bots that may or may not activate in response."

"All right. I've set the burst transmission to arrive about now. Knowing your team leader, who is by the way gonna KICK your asses when she gets a hold of you both," Sokka and Zuko swallowed hard, "she's mobilized the men by now, and are arriving via Hyper Jump in about fifteen more minutes."

Digging into her pack, Toph handed Sokka a pile of crude contraptions. "Give this to Mai and Ty Lee. And tell them to Go Nuts."

"Got it. Let's get this done."

*

*

Zuko peeked around the corner as he hustled more prisoners onto the transport presumably to fix the insides. "Three… two… one…." He muttered, hoping Doctor Toph was right.

Then, a Grinder deactivated, slumping over. Then another. And another. Like a row of dominos, the Grinders began to depower.

Sokka grinned as the patrols suddenly slumped over. Yanking off his helmet and tossing it to the side, he popped Ty Lee and Mai's rooms open and shoved a handful of the devices into Ty Lee's hands. "Go Nuts."

Ty Lee giggled, tossed one to Mai who then dead-panned. "Whee." Before she threw the device up at the higher area with astounding accuracy – the device exploding in a hail of explosions.

"IT'S BOOM TIME!" Ty Lee laughed happily. "C'mon Mai, let's go and make things go exploody!"

Sokka stared at Ty Lee who literally skipped down the hall, sticking bombs to important looking things as the prisoners made their escape, guided by Hakoda. "Is… she… always like this?"

"Nope," replied Mai. "She's usually worse. You just gave her explosives."

"BOOM!" proclaimed Ty Lee, slapping a explosive onto the nearest cache of explosives. "C'mon, lets get a good view when I make this place go pop!"

"Oh boy, just what I wanted to know: Zuko's best friends are pyromaniacs."

"I'm more of a stab you maniac but it's about the same thing," replied Mai dryly, causing Sokka to hang his head.

*

*

Toph surfed easily through the computer system, breaking walls. After shutting down all of the Grinders in the area, she moved onto attack bots which were surprisingly few in count. And then finally, she moved through the files, searching for information.

"There you are precious," grinned the girl as she stole a few terabytes of data. "This'll be good to look at back home. Now then… lets see…"

Taking out a modified external, she plugged it into the console before hiding it. Shutting her laptop, she took off her VR goggles and grinned. "Thanks for the assist Azulon."

Running out into the hall, she scampered down the catwalk towards the two waiting death machines that were rapidly being filled. Running up the walkway to the first one, she had to duck a blast of fire that arced over her head.

At the top, Azula smirked. "Well well, if it isn't the pint-sized Doctor. What are YOU doing out of the lab?"

"Kicking your butt," retorted Toph shortly as she bent the earth beneath the facility floor, giant rocks hurling at Azula who dodged. A blast of fire crashed against a shield of stone as Toph wrapped stone around her body to withstand another attack. Bits and pieces hammered at Azula from another angle as she landed.

"You know it's a shame your little assault on our facility left all of the robots crippled," sighed Azula theatrically as she exchanged blows with Toph at a range, the earthbender doing the same. "They would have loved fighting you.'

"Well I hate to disappoint, but we're in a hurry today," replied Toph, kicking out and sending a massive boulder at Azula who was forced to leap high out of the way from.

Throwing another rock, it slammed against the Hangar Control mechanism, shortcircuiting it. The doors slid open and Toph smirked at Azula who then lunged at the tiny earthbender. Azula was thrown backwards by a pillar of stone and Toph proclaimed. "Booyah."

Her Rev Morpher chimed and she clicked it. "Yes?"

"Doctor Toph? This is Series Blue. We're coming in for a hot rescue like you said."

"Excellent timing as always Series Blue," replied Toph as she bent the ground around Azula, keeping the hybrid pinned down. Leaping up the ramp and into the machine, she slammed the door button, closing it.

More transports dropped out of the sky and soon, everyone was out of the way. As Toph moved towards the cockpit, Zuko nodded and said, "Everyone's onboard, but there's a problem."

"These hunks of junk won't start," said Hakoda, trying everything. "They're inoperative."

"I planned for that. Wait for it."

On cue, the external that Toph had left behind beeped, finally uploading its precious cargo as the two machines started to reshape, coloring themselves with a silver and a gold trim. The machine roared to life and both of them let out a sythesized roar.

"You've got to be kidding me," dead-panned Sokka as Hakoda pulled the controls and the giant machines stomped free. One was a Silver Mongoose Dragon and the other a massive gold-colored Komodo Rhino. "Did we just do the equivalent of car-jacking but with giant death machines?"

"Yep," grinned Hakoda. "Now how do you drive this thing?"

"Move." Hakoda got out of the chair as Mai plopped into it. She offered a rare smirk and said, "Thanks," to Doctor Toph before the thrusters fired under it and the machine rose into the air.

"And… it flies. THIS IS SO COOL!"

As the two zords and assembled transports flew away, the facility detonated.

*

*

"You three are in a lot of trouble," stated Katara that evening. Toph was obviously not listening as she worked on the download while Sokka and Zuko wore expressions of "Oh god mom's chewing us out". "Does ANYONE listen to the team leader here anymore?" Aang raised his hand and she sighed.

"It was important!" protested Zuko.

"Yeah what he said." Added Sokka.

"Still the fact is that you guys went there with Doctor T, and we never got told properly. Just a "oh I left for meat" thing." Katara folded her arms. "And who're the new people?"

Ty Lee waved after she swallowed a chunk of noodles. "Hi, Ty Lee. Zuko and T's best friend."

"Mai," said the other who was eating more delicately than her friend.

"They were part of the Alphabet Soup children," said Toph as she worked tirelessly on her computer. "And looks like they were declared missing at age 4 and 5."

"Yeah. I remember growing up with them, but after a while they just stopped coming," said Zuko. "Good to have you back you two."

"Yeah," nodded Ty Lee. "Now we just need Azula and your mom once she gets out of the hospital your dad and uncle Iroh…"

"Where IS Azula anyhow?" inquired Mai. "Don't tell me she's dead."

"Worse," replied Zuko. "She's a hybrid. And I've been fighting her for the last three months."

"Wow, what a mood killer," said Ty Lee after a moment. "At least she's maybe kind of happy?"

"Well she was aggressive," mused Mai.

"In any case, going to the facility was a good plan. And it came up with more important information about Azulon's plans." Doctor Toph sighed. "And of course it's not good news."

"It's never good news, it's always bad news. WHY can't it be GOOD news?" demanded Sokka.

"Sokka please. What's the problem Doctor?" inquired Hakoda.

"It looks like that the facility really IS where all of the Hybrids come from, infecting and melting people with the Azulon Virus to bend them to his will, as well as reconstructing their bodies to ensure their loyalty. However it's not stopping there." Doctor Toph sighed and she rubbed her sightless eyes.

"Azulon is working on an even more advanced version, based on research. For what I'm not sure, be it an attack bot or something else. But I do know this: he's working on Generation 5 Hybrid Technology."


	15. Chapter 15: Bitter Work

Bitter Work

*

*

Zuko sat by his mother's bed, clasping her hand. "Mom…."

"Any change?" asked Katara as she walked into the room.

"None, but the doctors are doing the best they can. It's just that… well, they removed most of her cybernetic implants but she just can't remember. She's polite and she's everything I remember about her but…!"

"She's not your mother, I get it." Said Katara.

"I also heard from Sokka what happened to yours. I'm sorry."

Katara forced a lump down her throat. "Yeah. Thanks."

Looking up, she added, "Hey I'm going to get a green tea smoothie. You want me to bring you a peach one?"

"Make it two," replied Zuko. "Mom loves peaches."

"All right."

Leaving the room, Katara sighed as she made her way through the hospital and down out through the exit where Aang and Sokka were waiting for her. "No change," she said.

"That's too bad. She's a nice lady and all." Sokka looked at his sister. "You okay?"

"I will be soon. Hey, isn't Doctor Toph supposed to be here?" inquired Katara.

"She said she had some catching up to do with Ty Lee and Mai. Something about checking out something they hid a long time ago as kids." Said Aang. "What do you think it could be?"

"Maybe some kind of treasure?" mused Sokka. "Then again, I can't believe they're all geniuses."

"They really don't look like it, Ty Lee and Mai I mean. Well, Mai more than Ty Lee considering how BUBBLY the girl is." Agreed Katara. "C'mon, lets get smoothies. I promised Zuko I'll get him two."

"But he's only got the stomach for one, and he hates peach," said Aang, confused.

"It's for his mom Aang," said Sokka and Aang understood.

As they headed to the car, Aang added, "Can we go see Appa? I understand you guys don't want me to bring him home but…"

Katara smiled and Sokka nodded. "Yeah, lets go see Appa. Said Katara.

*

*

A bowl of rice plopped down next to Doctor Toph's computer as Mai commanded, "Eat."

"Can't. I'm working on this—hey!" She scrabbled for the VR visor but Mai held it out of range. "Mai give it back!"

"No. Not until you eat something. You've been working for almost three days on it," said Mai.

"Yeah, and that much stress is bad for your aura," pointed out Ty Lee who was doing some flexibility exersizes that she claimed kept her mind working. "It's all a muddy earth brown."

"I'm an earthbender, of course it's muddy brown," replied Toph. Relenting, she took a handful of rice and munched on it.

Mai gave Toph one of her rare few head-pats and sat down before picking up her own chopsticks and rice. "You know," she said, delicately eating a few grains, "Why don't you spend more time with your team on the field? Back in the day you used to get into fights with everyone."

"Time's tempered my, well, temper," repied Toph as she munched noisily on her food.

"I don't think so," replied Ty Lee, bending into a nearly painful looking pose. "I mean you've got your patience still, but your temper's just as hot as ever."

"It is not," replied Toph sourly.

"Uh oh, there's that sulk and pout again," said Mai, a tiny smile on her face.

Toph rubbed her face, stuck out her tongue and made Ty Lee laugh.

After finishing her food, she held out a hand. "Visor." Mai threw it like a knife and Toph caught it after so many years of practiced motions. Slipping it onto her eyes, a rush of information flooded back.

"So what are you looking for?" inquired Ty Lee after pulling herself out of a position that would be best described as Not Humanly Possible.

"More information. When I left, I used a spider-tracer to gather a bit more than I needed. Anything to give us an edge really," replied Toph. "They've probably found my hack and are guarding against further incursions, so I need to be careful from now on."

"I see." Said Ty Lee. "What if you seguey a pattern of multiple frequencies, cause a massive DoS-type attack. In the ensuring chaos you could slip in and grab what you need."

"If I had a hundred computers and a massive uplink to Azulon I would, but right now it's not feasible. Maybe three years ago…" Toph shrugged. "They're expecting that tactic anyhow."

"Hmm…" Mai looked over Toph's shoulder and pointed at a line of code. "Pause it." Toph did so and she read it off. "Sozin's Comet. What is that?"

"I'm not sure," said Toph as she scanned the rest of the code. "There's nothing."

"Sozin's Comet…" said Ty Lee, tapping her finger against her chin. "I remember this from history lessons. Wasn't that the legendary comet that was said to be able to grant Firebenders superpowers? Like ten fold?"

"A hundredfold," corrected Mai, realizing where they had heard it before. "They said that the last time they saw it, a war broke out. Fortunately it was quelled later on, due to the Avatar."

"Yeah… so what do you think this reference could be?" mused Ty Lee. "Could the comet be coming back?"

"Referencing Star Charts and Maps." Typing rapidly, Toph located her answer. "No. It can't. Sozin's Comet isn't due to return for another hundred years. Actually a hundred and fourty years. By then, we're either space dust, or a thriving super-civilization."

"A thriving civilization with Firebenders and men and women with ambition." pointed out Mai. "But that's just me pointing out the obvious."

"It must refer to a device then, but I'm finding no record of it," mused Toph.

"Maybe shelve it for later? We still need to head out for a bit, do what we needed to get done since we were reunited." Ty Lee said.

"As much as I hate to leave a mystery unsolved, you've got a point. All right; let's table this for now. No sense getting worked up about it." Hanging up her VR visor, Toph stretched. "I need a smoothie. And a walk."

*

*

"Boring." Stated Aang.

"Yep." Said Sokka.

"Nothing to do." Said Aang.

"Yep." Said Sokka.

Katara sucked on her smoothie before offering one to Zuko who took it, but only took a small sip. "So um… Ursa is it? That's a pretty name."

"Thank you dear," smiled Ursa. "And you're Katara right? That's a pretty name too. Are you and young Zuko here dating?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" exclaimed Katara hotly.

"She's not my girlfriend!" proclaimed Zuko at the same time.

Ursa smiled as she giggled softly. Taking the smoothie, she sipped it. "Mmmm. Did you know that peaches come with a blessing? They say that a child found floating downstream in a peach blossom is a gift from the gods."

"Really? I've never heard of that story before," said Aang, perking up at the potential of a good story.

"Yes it is," smiled Ursa. "Though I can't remember any of it other than the description."

"Oh, I see," said Aang, disappointed.

Katara checked the clock, frowning a bit. "It's strange," she mused.

"What is it Katara?" asked Sokka.

"It's been five days since you all came back, and another two since you left. Seven days and Azulon hasn't attacked." Mused Katara. "Might be my recently instilled sense of paranoia kicking in but…"

"No, I feel it too," said Aang. "Lately I've been getting edgier, like something needs to be done. And lately I've been dreaming about Avatar Roku, but I can't make out what he's saying."

"Well I for one am GLAD we have a small vacation. Heck, I'm sure the crazy cabbage guy is glad for it too!" stated Sokka.

"MY CABBAGES!" cried a voice from the window outside and everyone glanced outside to see the vendor chasing after the wagon that was rapidly zooming downhill, over a ledge and into an incinerator.

"Ooooooor maybe NOT," drawled Sokka. "It's all a matter of perspective."

*

*

"It is good to see you back Chief Hakoda," greeted General Iroh as the Water Tribesman walked into the command room.

"And you as well old friend," said Hakoda, giving the large man a firm handshake. "When I was in the wastes, I always hoped I'd come back safe and sound."

"For a while we belived you to be Missing in Action," said Iroh. "But I am glad you proved us wrong. I hope your search was successful?'

"It was," said Hakoda as he pulled out a new map of the world with several places circled. "Here and here, here and here. All of these marked locations are settlements, human settlements who have withstood the march of the machines. Also, there is a very LARGE bastion of people still remaining in the North Pole, as snow and ice are deadly against mechanical beings."

"So…" mused Iroh as he gazed over the map. "You realize the signifigance of these locations."

"Yes I do," replied Hakoda. "Here, in the North Pole lays the Spirit Oasis. Over here is the Swamp, which shows you what needs to be done. Here and here are temples of Fire and Earth currently occupied by whatever remains of the populace in these areas. They too are major locations due to the proximity to the birthplace of the Avatar. And finally, here and here; these two parts near Ba Sing Se itself provide what we need to access the crystal mines below."

"So then, we finally have it. A means to defend outselves by our own hands and gain troop strength and allies, all in the name of defeating the march of Azulon and his forces." Iroh sighed. "It is a small hope, but now I know that it can be done with much work and a little luck."

"What about the Rangers General?" inquired Hakoda. "Back then it was a pipe-dream. Now, I find myself with two children who are valiant heroes in the defense of Ba Sing Se."

Iroh smiled. "I put my full trust in them Hakoda, as should you. In time they were learn however, that not ALL battles can be fought by them. This is merely a way to lighten THEIR load as well as ours."

"In the meantime, I suggest we send a messenger to the Northern Water Tribe. If memory serves me correctly, Master Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe, their greatest waterbending master resides in the lower section of Ba Sing Se, teaching Katara of all people how to bend her element."

"A bender in the family," smiled Hakoda. "I wish I could have been there to help."

"As do all fathers," assured Iroh. "However, now is the time to make sure we can assist the Rangers, AND the Avatar. Even if he is determined to lighten his own load, there may be something that will force him to make a decision. And when that day comes old friend; I do hope he will make the right one."

Hakoda. "By your leave." Bowing, the man left and Iroh smiled before picking up his tea. Sipping it, he made a face. "Ugh! Cold tea…"

*

*

"I thought I'd find you here," said Teo as he rolled down the stairs and into the Archivum. "Come to talk with your past self?"

"I wish," replied Aang as he sat cross-legged as the glyphs beneath his feet spun under a clear-crystal floor. "When I try, it just gives me this automated voice. I can't talk to Avatar Roku this way."

"Maybe you're not," said Teo. "I mean, you're the Avatar right? Shouldn't you be able to talk to him at any point in time?"

"It doesn't work that way," said Aang, downcast. "I've been seeing him in my dreams but his voice is so quiet, I can hardly make it out."

"You know, maybe you need to go somewhere that's well, attuned, to Avatar Roku." Mused Teo.

"Like where?"

"How about a temple? Like a Fire one?"

"Tried it. The place in town has like zero ambience and there's this old batty monk who keeps glaring at me." Said Aang.

"Hmm… didn't you say you went to see Aunt Wu? How about her?"

"Hey you're right! She WAS helpful before." Jumping to his fee,t the glyphs turned off. "All right, I'll do it. I'll go and talk to Aunt Wu and brave that impossible line again!"

"Great! And before you go, mind pushing me up the stairs?"

Aang's expression fell and he groaned. "All right. Hang on a sec."

*

*

"Appa! I brought some berries for you!"

The massive Flying Bison rumbled as he opened his mouth and Aang threw him the berries which Appa ate. Patting his old friend on the nose, Aang hugged him. "Missed you buddy."

Appa responded with a lick that stained Aang's face purple and he laughed. "Missed those licks too. How've you been holding up?"

Appa rumbled in a pleased tone. "I'm glad Dock and his brothers have taken care of you. I'll have to thank them later."

Appa grumbled and nudged Aang and Aang patted his friend on the head. "I'd love to bring you back with me, but you wouldn't fit in the garage, and the street outside of it isn't a good place for a Sky Bison." Appa shifted a little and Aang rubbed his nose. "It'll be all right Appa. It's like living in the Bison care center when we were little. I'll be here every day and we'll run missons together as Rangers. Okay?"

Appa rumbled and then looked to the sky. "Oh you mean the zord? Yeah, he's like your brother actually. Or maybe your twin? I don't get this DNA thing to be honest."

Appa rumbled again, clearly satisfied with the statement. "All right, I'll come back later buddy provided I'm not on call from an attack." Appa licked Aang again and he smiled. "I know; hair on me looks weird too. But I kind of like it and I've started to grow it out again." Appa replied and Aang chuckled. "I am NOT getting to be a lazy Avatar!"

"Having fun Series Yellow?" inquired Toph and Aang jumped a little. "Hello Appa."

Appa made a pleased sound as she walked up, rubbed his nose and dumped two smoothies into his outstretched tongue. "Appa loves banana and grape," she explained as she shook the contents of the containers she had. "Aang, I need to borrow Appa for a bit."

"Why's that?" inquired Aang.

"The girls and I are running a mission outside the dome. Just out to Lake Laogai." Explained Toph. "We've left something there since the last time we were stuck in that facility."

"I thought it was destroyed," said Aang and Toph nodded. "But then how—?"

"I can earthbend and pull the paths and reconstruct it. It may take some time but we'll be done in approximately six hours." Said Toph. "Notify the rest of the Rangers for me. Mai, Ty Lee?"

"We're here," said Ty Lee as she carried a few picks and shovels for herself and the other girl.

"We ready to do this?" said Mai as she tightened her gloves. "Once we go, there's no turning back."

"I'm sure," said Toph.

"W-Wait. Can I come with you three?" asked Aang and they looked at her. "I mean, well I haven't flown with Appa for ages and I was just thinking that since I've been learning some earthbending I could give you a hand…"

Mai let out a tiny chuckle. "He's earnest. This why you keep him around T?"

"Sorta. He's baseline data for the Avatar," smirked Toph and Aang made a face. "All right. But you've got to follow my lead. Call the others too and make certain that they understand this is a four-man mission."

"Got it." As Aang pulled out his morpher, Ty Lee looked over at Toph and whispered, "Hey T? Why ARE you bringing him? This was supposed to be a all girls thing."

"If there's one thing Series Yellow has taught me, it's that there is never anything that happens due to coincidence but destiny. As a scientist I should scoff at it, but as a friend I can't help but wonder how the Avatar is going to restore balance to this world. Call it a passing fancy." Toph turned away and clambered aboard Appa before anyone could see the blush on her face.

*

*

"This facility dates back nearly a hundred years," said Toph as she and Aang earthbent their way through the tunnels, clearing debris and reinforcing the broken structure. "It used to be a secret place made for the Earth King in case of invasion of Ba Sing Se. But since then, the purpose of it was changed."

"Men in black suits just came by one day to our homes, myself and Ty Lee," continued Mai in that train of thought. "They said we were gifted, and took us away from our families in the dead of night."

"Here we were forced to develop technologies for "the good of mankind"," said Ty Lee, holding up a flashlight as they broke into the main structure of the underground base. Water sloshed around but the walls were sturdy. "Mai is a genius of mathematics, while I'm more of the weapons developer."

"Ty Lee likes things that goes boom," put in Mai and the girl with the braid giggled, rubbing her head.

"So if you were abducted for math, and Ty Lee for her explosives, then what was Doctor Toph abducted for?" asked Aang.

Toph shoved her hand forward, earthbending a chunk of stone to stop a large leak. "Everything else. When they found me, I had escaped my folks, and was drawing complex diagrams on the pavement. I could only see where my sense of touch was showing, but something about it apparently made them target me. Days later I was being held here; in the Alphabet Soup complex."

"Ty Lee and I were introduced to her. Back then, T had undergone so much conditioning to the men and women working the Alphabet Soup project, that she had forgotten even her own name. Ty Lee and I held onto ours stubbornly, especially after Ty Lee threatened to blow up the lab."

"I almost made a few go pop," admitted Ty Lee.

"That's so sad. To be dragged away from the people who loved you…" said Aang, his expression downcast. "Did your parents manage to escape to Ba Sing Se?'

"Yes, but we haven't let them know," replied Ty Lee. "Mai and I like our freedom."

"Found it." Announced Toph and the four walked over. "Keys."

Mai and Ty Lee pulled out keys and Toph slotted both of them before adding a third to the box. Opening it one key at a time, the hiss of air rushing in was heard. "Vacuum sealed," explained Toph to Aang. "Here we are…"

"When we were escaping the attack on the facility, Mai and I went back for these things," said Ty Lee, picking up what looked like a joystick and tucking it into her waistband as Mai did the same. "But we were forced to leave them here since we realized we needed T's key as well."

"But what are they?" asked Aang.

"Seriously, you don't notice a morpher when you see it Series Yellow?" snorted Toph and Aang blinked rapidly in surprise.

"Series Gold and Series Silver," said Mai. "They're designed for us, myself and Ty Lee. Replicated from the originals, it was an attempt to develop as much firepower as we could in order to escape."

"I see," said Aang. Just then, his morpher chimed. "Aang here."

"We've finally got our attack," said Katara and the sound of an explosion close by. "Looks like Azulon threw three attack bots at us. Command tower confirms them all as Generation 15."

"Looks like we get to test out our stuff," said Ty Lee as Aang confirmed they were en route. "It's a go for boom time!"

*

*

"SAWS! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SAWS!" cried out Sokka as he dodged wildly and was knocked backwards. Rolling to his feet, Hakoda covered his son with a laser rifle.

Emptying his clip into the saw bot, Zuko swooped in to intercept it as Hakoda pulled his son to his feet. "Stay focused Sokka," instructed Hakoda.

"Got it. To your left!" Activating his own blaster, Sokka whipped his arm around his father, firing at the rake bot that was sneaking up on them.

Katara pulled water from the fountain and wrapped it around the flame bot which blasted fire from the tubes on its arms. Making a motion, she encased it in ice.

"That will not hold for long," said Iroh as he prepared another volley. True enough, the flame bot broke free in a burst of flames directed at the group. Iroh intercepted it with a chopping motion as he barked into his earpiece. "Flight 2, you are a go!"

From the buildings, the second Flight rained fire and stone down upon the bots. Hakoda smiled. "Just like old times, huh Iroh?"

"Indeed. Though I think I'm getting too old to be on the battlefield," chuckled the elderly man. "Though for now, let us stop messing around."

Hakoda nodded as he pulled out a small cylinder that hung at his belt. It telescoped out to a traditional Water Tribe Spear as he and Iroh charged the saw bot. The saw bot met them, sparks flying from where the spinning blades met Hakoda's spear. Undaunted, Hakoda drove his spear into its left eye and the saw bot stumbled in time for Iroh to swing in with a fire-laden punch that knocked it across the battlefield.

"Whoa," said Zuko who had managed to knock down the rake bot with his own set of bending. "Look at them go."

"I guess that's why they're the best," said Sokka. "Man do I feel underwhelmed."

"Eyes front you two!" snapped Katara as she re-engaged the flame bot who fired more projectiles at her.

The flame bot finally had enough of the benders on the rooftops and started firing at them. The waterbenders scrambled to douse the flames as Iroh barked into his headset. "Flight 2, fall back! Don't give them a target!"

"Behind you!" Iroh turned a little too late as the saw bot got up and was swinging at his neck.

Suddenly, a wave of rocks slammed into the saw bot and it was thrown to the side. Doctor Toph smirked as she lowered her hands. "Looks like you need some help," she said as she produced her Engine Cell.

"About time you guys got back!" snapped Sokka.

"Sorry. We had to park Appa a block away," said Aang, rubbing his head.

"And believe me, a Flying Bison double-parks," added Ty Lee.

"Whatever. Let's just get this done with." Finished Mai as she produced an Engine Cell.

"A.D.S.! Max Drive!" chorused the four and in a blast of light, four Rangers stood there. The familiar forms of Yellow and Green were apparent but the suits that Mai and Ty Lee wore were a glittering gold color and a glowing silver.

"Lets go," said Mai and Ty Lee charged at the front of the pack as Aang and Toph took up the middle, bending stone and air around themselves as they reinforced Katara with the flame bot. Mai hung to the back and several sets of small knives snapped into her hands, glowing with golden light.

The battle which had been seriously one-sided for the defenders quickly turned into a a massacre for the good guys. With the exceptionall coordination of the group at large, each bot was destroyed quickly and effectively.

As the last bot fell riddled with daggers, Sokka started counting out loud. "Three… two…"

But before he could get to one, the remains of the bots grew. "Nuts," said Sokka. "I was hoping I was going to be right this time."

"Downmorphing Zords," commanded Katara and the battle vehicles exploded into view.

"Rangers," said Toph as she input a command on her wrist-mounted computer. "I've entered a new Megazord configuration into the system. Also Ty Lee, Mai. I've given you guys the chance to combine your zords as well."

"Sweet. Downmorphing Zords!" commanded Ty Lee as she and Mai entered their own vehicles.

"Combining Bison Fortress Megazord," commanded Katara as their zords linked together.

"Executing State-Breaker Megazord sequence," reported Mai as her zord begun the interlink process with Ty Lee's own.

Soon, two massive robots stood in the middle—the titanic sized Bison Fortress with its weapons gleaming in the sun, and the new State-Breaker Megazord which appeared to be more of a samurai of legend with overtones of the Mongoose Dragon and Komodo Rhino in it.

"Downmorphing Badger Mole," commanded Toph and a truly huge Badger Mole appeared. Leaping into the cockpit, Toph synchronized with the machine. "Beginning A.D.S. Max Megazord configuration sequence."

The Badger Mole swung upright as parts unfolded from it. Arms and legs and the thick back spun on its arm as a weapon. A face flipped from the head and Toph smiled. "You guys aren't the only one with a zord."

"… where DO you get the time to make all of our cool toys?" inquired Sokka moments before they pushed the Bison Fortress into battle.

"I call dibs on the rake bot," called out Ty Lee as she and Mai's zord drew a giant katana, stancing with two fingers lining up their opponent. Ty Lee grinned and waggled the fingers, egging the rake bot on who obliged willingly.

"That leaves me with hot feet here," smirked Toph as her zord assumed her unique stance. The flame bot and her faced off and the flame bot lifted a foot—and Toph took her chance as she bent the ground beneath the opponents' still upraised foot through her zord.

*

*

"Even three attack bots weren't enough," mused Azula as they watched their robots explode into a million pieces, get sliced in half expertly and be crushed into a little ball.

"No matter," said Azulon. "It is time that I start my plans to take this world for our own. The data gathered over time was most helpful, and we were able to discover the location of some of the worlds most sacred places."

"How will that help us to defeat the Power Rangers great one?" inquired Ozai.

"The Rangers are but of a nusance to me," rumbled the virus. "The true enemy is the Avatar. And I intend to win the battle—and end the line of Avatars once and for all."


End file.
